The Malfoy Family Secrets
by Meluivan Indil
Summary: COMPLETE! There is a new student at Hogwarts, a transfer from the Beauxbatons Academy. But who is she, and how is she connected to Draco Malfoy? Story includes spoilers for the later Harry Potter fics. Story centers around friendship and family ties. Mild
1. A Different Ending

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in the world of Harry Potter and Hogwarts. The wonderful J.K. Rowling, who created it in the first place, owns it all and I am receiving no monetary gain for writing this.

**Summary**: There is a new student at Hogwarts, a transfer from the Beauxbatons Academy. But who is she, and how is she connected to Draco Malfoy? Story includes spoilers for the later Harry Potter fics.

**Author's Note**: In this fic I have rewrote the last few chapters of Half Blood Prince to reflect how I would have personally liked to see it go, and have started a seventh year at Hogwarts for our favorite trio. There is a small amount of HP/OFC pairing in this fic, but I stress that this story is not a romance. This story is mostly about friendship and family ties. Therefore I am ignoring the fact that Harry and Ginny hooked up in J.K. Rowling's version. I must warn that this story is rated PG-13 due to violence in later chapters.

**The Malfoy Family Secret **

**A Different Ending**

Harry stood frozen next to the Astronomy Tower door watching as Severus Snape stood staring at Dumbledore's weakened body. If only Dumbledore hadn't used that body binding charm on him. If only they hadn't went after that stupid Horcrux to begin with, maybe there would have been a way to avoid the deadly situation they were facing.

He could tell by the look in Snape's eyes that he meant to kill Dumbledore. But Dumbledore had trusted him. Why had he trusted him?

"Draco, this is your task to finish. The Dark Lord has given it to you." Snape hissed. He turned then as a loud noise was heard from the bottom of the stairs. "All of you. Go down there and finish as many of them as you can. Once this is over I want a clear path out of here." Snape ordered the Death Eaters behind them. They complied though reluctantly. None of them wanted to cross Lord Voldimort's most trusted servant.

After they had left Snape looked directly at Draco. "You must decide what you want to do, boy." He could see the hesitancy in Draco's face.

"He can not do it, Severus. He is not his father." A weak voice next to the wall called out. Snape turned in that direction, seeing Dumbledore trying to stand a little straighter. "But you on the other hand…." The wizard's words died as a knowing look crossed his face.

Snape's wand hand raised a fraction as he licked his lips and Harry could see him readying the curse in his mind.

"It is not too late to turn back, Severus. You have been my friend for many years now. Is this really what you wish?" Dumbledore's voice strengthened, as he knew he was fighting for his very life.

For a moment it looked as if Snape was considering his words. But then his resolve returned. "I made the Unbreakable Vow, with his mother." Snape motioned to Draco.

Dumbledore nodded understanding the situation Snape had placed himself in. "You are a member of the Order, Severus. Why would you do something like that?"

"I have been playing this spy game for so long that I have forgotten which side I am supposed to be on anymore. But as far as the Vow, I had no choice." Snape said bitterly. "If I had refused, they would have known. That cow, Bellatrix, was with her. She would have immediately gone to the Dark Lord. Then where would I be? You can't protect everyone Dumbledore. The Order of the Pheonix can't protect everyone."

Draco looked up at Snape with a surprised look on his face. He had known about the Unbreakable Vow that Snape had made with his mother, but he had never imagined that his mentor was leaning towards Dumbledore's side in this war.

"What was the exact Vow you made?" Dumbledore asked wearily.

"I would do whatever it takes to protect this boy, even if it included finishing the task he was set to do, if he could not." Snape spat out angrily.

"If you finish the boys task, do you think Voldemort will allow him to live? If you have to finish it won't it prove to the Dark Lord that the boy does not have what it takes to be a Death Eater? Do you think he will be allowed to live?" Dumbledore asked knowing the answers that Snape would surely realize.

Snape looked to Draco, seeing the situation he was in.

"Severus, maybe the best way to protect the boy is not by finishing his task, but by standing by him, and being there for him, if the need arises." Dumbledore suggested.

For a moment Severus seemed to contemplate Dumbledore's words, but finally the wand lowered very slowly. Draco's jaw dropped when he saw Snape's wand hand fall. "But your Vow…" The boy said flustered.

"Was to protect you in any way I had to. And the best way to do that, is to ensure that you never come in contact with Lord Voldemort or the Death Eaters." Snape hissed.

"Now, Severus, if you could. I need my wand." Dumbledore stated holding his hand out.

"Accio, wand." Snape said and Harry could see Dumbledore's wand fly through the air and land softly in Snape's hand. Then Snape moved forward handing the wand back to the Wizard.

"Thank you, Severus." Dumbledore smiled waving the wand, and Harry was suddenly able to move again. "Now, Harry, if you don't mind helping me. We need to join the fray downstairs."

Snape and Draco both turned in the direction that Dumbledore was facing, and saw Harry remove his Invisibility Cloak. Harry swiftly moved past Snape and placed his shoulder under one of Dumbledore's arms. "I will help you, Professor. But if you ever put a Binding Spell on me in the face of danger again, we will be having words."

"Sorry, Harry. I wasn't sure what was coming through that door. Severus, would you lead the way?" Dumbledore asked as Harry began to help him forward.

"Yes, Sir." Severus answered then turned to Draco. "Stay behind me, Draco."

The four of them made their way down the stairs from the Astronomy Tower, and into the fight below. Snape saw Greyback the huge Werewolf in human form. He was cornered by Lupin and Tonks, but was fighting in complete rage and fury. The smile that crossed his face when he saw Snape and Draco slipped when he saw Dumbledore and Harry behind them.

"Traitor." He howled in rage, and broke free of Lupin after knocking his wand away. He was running towards Snape intending to rip his throat out.

"Greyback. We must go now." A female Death Eater screamed from the door leading out of the chamber they were in.

Greyback heard her and swerved out of the path of the oncoming Curse that Snape had directed at him. He and the girl left the room as several other Death Eaters covered their escape.

"Stop them." Snape yelled at the top of his lungs, but it was pointless. By the time he and the other members of the Order made their way to the front doors of the school they could barely see Greyback moving through the front gate, and then disapparating. They had captured almost a dozen Death Eaters, but the ringleaders had gotten away, and with them went any hope that Voldemort would not learn of the night's events.

The injured were taken to the hospital wing and Snape took Professor Dumbledore to his office to attempt to counter the effects of the liquid he had consumed in the cave.

Harry feeling confused and rather useless at the moment went searching for Ron and Hermione. It was hard to believe that he and Dumbledore had only left the school a few hours before. There had been an immense amount of damage done to the structure, and he knew that it would take the teachers some time to repair it all.

He finally found his friends in the hospital wing. "Ron, Hermione." He called out in fear that one of them had been hurt in the battle.

"Harry." Hermione called out as her and Ron both swung around.

"Blimey, Harry. You had us worried" Ron said watching Hermione rush up to hug Harry.

"Is everyone still … alive?" Harry asked pausing before the word. He remembered the fear he had felt when he first saw the Dark mark above Hogwarts. His first fear had been that one of his closest friends had been harmed or worse killed.

"Yes. We all made it." Ron said his eyes dropping to look at the floor.

Harry saw the furtive look on Ron's face and looked to Hermione, who's own face held a concerned look. "Who's hurt?" Harry asked immediately trying to look past the two friends. "Is it Ginny?" For the first time he noticed that she was not with them.

"No, I'm okay, Harry." Ginny said standing from beside a bed in the far corner. She turned to them and Harry could see that she had been crying. She walked to where they stood, and Ron wrapped his arm around her.

"Who…" Harry started to ask, motioning to the bed.

"Bill." Hermione answered him. "He was viciously attacked by Greyback."

"But it wasn't the full moon. I don't understand. I saw Greyback. He was clawing and biting at anyone who got near him." Harry wondered.

"It seems that he has become more Werewolf than human. He now attempts to kill viciously even as a human." Ginny said bitterly.

"Will he live?" Harry hated to ask the question, but he had to know.

"Yes, but the wounds do not heal right. Madame Pomfrey says he may never look the same. And there will be scarring." Ron answered.

"Mum and Dad are on their way here." Ginny said turning again to sit beside Bill. As they all moved closer Harry could see how horrible his injuries were.

When the rest of the Weasley family came in Madame Pomfrey asked Harry and Hermione to leave, so the family could have time to themselves.

They made their way back to the Gryffindor common room not sure where else to go. They saw Neville Longbottom there talking to some of the other Gryffindors. He and Luna Lovegood had been the only two other members of the DA to react to the call that Hermione had put out for help after Harry left. They were the only two who had been keeping an eye on the galleons that Harry had placed a spell on and given to the members of the DA. So other than Ron, Hermione, and Ginny they were the only students that had known exactly what had happened that night. Neville for once was happy to be the center of attention, as he told the gathered students of what had happened.

He looked up when he saw them enter. "Harry." He called out in excitement. "It worked. We repelled the Death Eaters and caught a few of them to boot."

"Yes, Neville. It worked." Harry said in an exhausted voice. He didn't want to talk to Neville, or any of the other students. So much had happened, and the only persons he wanted to share his part of the adventure with were Ron and Hermione. But most of all, he wanted to speak to Dumbledore. He had so many questions. And most prominent among them, was what they would do with the Horcrux.

Unfortunately the other Gryffindors were not ready to let them get away without explaining their parts of the battle. Hermione started off telling them what she and Ron had done, and about what had happened to Bill. All of the students shuddered at the thought of being attacked by Greyback, even in his human form.

When it was Harry's turn, he wasn't sure what to tell them. He had not been in the school for most of the battle and he was sure that Dumbledore would not want him telling them of the Horcrux, or about what had happened on the Astronomy Tower with Professor Snape and Draco. Luckily though at that moment a very young looking Second year came in and interrupted them. "Harry, Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office."

It was what Harry was waiting for. He immediately made his way to the Gargoyles outside Dumbledore's office, giving the password and rushing up the steps not allowing them to take him up, and without knocking entered the office.

"How are you, Professor?" He asked immediately.

"I am much better, Harry." Dumbledore said smiling. He did look stronger, but still warn around the edges. "Professor Snape fixed me up a restorative potion that has counteracted the effects of that potion I drank. I am assured that within a few days I will be back to my regular self."

Dumbledore motioned to a seat across from him, and Harry immediately sat down. "You have questions. I can see them in your eyes."

"Yes, Professor. What is to happen to Snape and Draco?" Was the first question that came to Harry.

"Professor Snape." Dumbledore corrected him. At his words, Harry felt some of the old anger bubbling up inside. "Harry, tonight of all nights, Severus showed me the greatest amount of loyalty that he ever could."

"But he almost killed you. He was going to. I saw it in his eyes." Harry blurted out.

"But he did not. Now did he?" Dumbledore countered. "And at great peril to his own life he did so. That Vow he took was a tricky one, and he is still under its power. He is now bound to Draco Malfoy for the rest of his life, and must protect the boy at all costs. For the day that that boy dies, will also be the day that Severus dies. It is just a good thing that Bellatrix was not as accomplished a witch as she might have thought she was. If she had done the Curse correctly Severus would have been bound to kill me or die himself. As it is, she just bound him as Draco's protector."

"And what of Draco. He is the one who allowed those Death Eaters to enter Hogwarts. Is he to be punished for that crime?" Harry hated the fact that he sounded vindictive when he asked the question, but his anger at Malfoy was still glaringly apparent.

"Harry, you missed part of my conversation with the young Mr. Malfoy. He had no choice in the matter. Voldemort would have killed him and his mother if he refused. As it is, I have very little hope for his mother's safety. I have members of the Order searching for her, but she has yet to be found." Dumbledore said with a touch of sadness entering his voice.

Harry hadn't listening to that part of the conversation; he had been fighting so hard to free himself from the binding spell. But now that he thought back he remembered.

"Now for the question that you wish to be answered most." Dumbledore said removing the locket from his pocket that he had taken from the cave. Harry tensed immediately. He had only seen one Horcrux in his life, but had not realized what it truly was even though he had destroyed it. But now he would have the opportunity to destroy yet a second part of Lord Voldemort. "Unfortunately, this is not a Horcrux, Harry."

"What." Harry said a little louder than he intended.

"Look inside." Dumbledore said handing the locket to Harry. Harry opened the locket and saw a piece of paper folded and tucked into one of the sides where a picture should have been. He took the paper out and read the words.

_To the Dark Lord. _

_I will be dead long before you read this. But I wanted you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux, and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more. _

_R.A.B._

Harry shook his head in disbelief. After all they had went through to get the locket, after leaving the school without its full protection, the Horcrux turned out to be a fake. Dumbledore had risked his life to get that locket, and Harry had worked so hard to bring him back to Hogwarts. He felt as if his entire body was slumping forward in exhaustion. "So it was for not." He said in a depressed tone.

"Not necessarily, Harry. It is a clue. We must now discover who R.A.B is and whether or not he destroyed the real Horcrux." Dumbledore said smiling.

"Not to be disrespectful, Professor, but right now, I'm too exhausted for clues, or mysteries." Harry said irritably.

Dumbledore chuckled. "That's alright, Harry. You go on now. I myself am rather tired, but I have many a task yet to perform before my head may hit the pillow."

Harry stopped by the Hospital wing before going back to his dorm. Molly Weasley greeted him tearfully, and begged him to take Ron back with him so he could rest.

"I'm fine, Mum. I can stay here with you." Ron argued.

"Now, Ron. Bill would not want you children neglecting yourselves over worrying about him. Take your sister and get some sleep." Molly insisted.

They grudgingly obeyed her.

The dorm room was quiet; too quiet. Harry knew that Ron was not sleeping, and he himself could not sleep either. They had overheard several of the teachers speaking on the way back from the Hospital Wing. Hogwarts would close down early this year. They were to all be sent home so repairs on the school could begin, and many of the teachers were worried whether or not some of the parents would allow their children to come back after there having been a Death Eater attack at the school.

Harry did not want to go back to the Dursley's so soon. His summer vacation always seemed long and tedious to begin with, but to have it extended depressed Harry greatly. He would be seventeen years old on July 20 though, and that would make him an adult in the wizarding world, and would also signal the end of his protection at #4 Privet Drive. He knew at that point he would have to leave the Dursley's forever. But where would he go? Grimmauld Place was the only place he could imagine would be as safe, considering all of the protection spells and curses that had been placed on the headquarters of the Order of the Pheonix. But could he stand living there with Sirius gone? It had been nearly a year since his Godfather's death, but he still felt the pang of heartbreak when he thought of all the time that they had been robbed of.

**_

* * *

Author's Note: __Well as you can all see, I left out the part about Tonks and Lupin. It's not because I dislike the pairing. Believe me, I like them together, but I did not think that the Hospital Wing with Bill lying injured so close by was a fit time and place to discuss a possible relationship. That bothered me when I read it to begin with. And I absolutely despise Fleur; so don't expect to see her in any of my fics, at least not in a good light that is. I will warn every one now; this story is one that is full of angst, which you will begin to see in the next chapter. I hope you like it. Please review. _ : **


	2. Saying Goodbye Once Again

**Disclaimer: **Alas they are not mine. But that is just the way life goes.

**Saying Goodbye Once Again**

The day after the Death Eater attack, the students were informed that they would all be sent home that evening on the Hogwarts Express. Their families had been informed of the situation, and they should be arriving home the next morning. Harry wondered if the Dursleys would bother to pick him up at the station. But those thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind as the day progressed, and he packed his things and said his farewells to some of his friends and teachers.

Late in the afternoon he went to Dumbledore's office hoping to speak to him concerning what he was to do that summer when he reached the age of adulthood. He gave the password to the gargoyles and let the spiral stairs take him up to the Headmaster's office and was about to knock when he heard voices from inside which froze his hand.

"So it is confirmed." Came Snape's voice.

"Yes. I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, but it has been confirmed that you mother's body was found this morning." Dumbledore's voice sounded remorseful.

Harry could hear a sharp intake of breath, presumably from Draco. And then he heard a voice that was so much unlike the inflated self-important one that he had always heard from Malfoy. "This is my fault." It whispered.

"Draco, you must not think that way. Lord Voldemort decided to kill you and your mother the moment your father failed him. It was only a matter of time. He was just playing with you, to punish your father." Dumbledore tried to explain to the boy. "No one is to blame except the Dark Lord himself."

Harry could hear sniffling, as if someone was trying hard not to cry. "What is to become of me now?" He heard that same deflated voice say.

"You and Professor Snape will remain at Hogwarts this summer, as will I. You will be protected, Draco." Dumbledore answered.

Harry turned then, heading down the stairs not wanting to run into Malfoy and Snape as they left the office. He would wait in the hallway with his invisibility cloak on. But he heard Draco say one more thing as he was descending the stairs. "My father, I'm assuming will be safe in Azkaban, but there is another who will need protection."

Harry did not hear the rest of the conversation. He was too far away. He assumed that Draco was speaking of a close family friend or cousin that he had not heard of. But it mattered not. Harry had a lot to think about. He had always hated the Draco Malfoy he had met on his first day at Hogwarts, but this Draco sounded small and deflated. The boasting, sneering Draco was not the one he had heard in that office. Harry, though the thought repulsed him in a way, thought that he now had something in common with Draco. They both had lost their mothers to Lord Voldemort. And both mothers had died trying to protect their sons that they loved. Harry knew he would never be friends with Draco Malfoy, but he now felt a small amount of pity for the boy.

Harry never did get a chance to talk to Dumbledore that afternoon, with several teachers rushing in and out of his office, but when he returned to the Gryffindor common room Hermione was waiting for him and holding a piece of parchment, with Dumbledore's unmistakable scrawling letters on it.

Harry immediately opened it.

_Harry,_

_I will arrive at #4 Privet drive at approximately 11:30pm on the night before your 17th birthday. I wish to remove you from that place before there is a chance of attack by the Death Eaters. You might wish to inform the Dursleys that for their own safety they should take an overnight trip that night. I would not wish to be in residence there at midnight._

_Yours truly,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

"Hmm. He says that he will remove me from the Dursley's the night before my birthday, but does not say where I am to go." Harry said wondering.

"I hope it's the Burrow." Said Hermione. "Mum and Dad said I could spend some time there this summer again. We can all three be together again." Harry too was hoping that he would go to the Weasley's home, but something told him that for his own protection, it would not be so.

He said a tearful goodbye to Hagrid, who was still mourning his giant spider friend Aragog. And took a last glance at Hogwarts as he readied to board the train. He could see high above on the Astronomy tower stood one lone figure. It was impossible to make out exactly whom the person was, but Harry could see pale blonde hair shining in the sunlight, and knew it must be Malfoy. He watched as another figure strode out of the Tower door. This figure was wearing billowing black robes and had the darkest jet-black hair. He saw the second figure place a hand on the firsts shoulder, but also saw the first figure pull away resentfully. He remembered his own resentful behavior after Sirius' death, and understood. Then as the whistle blew he turned and boarded the train, saying a silent goodbye to Hogwarts once again.

_Author's Note: I know it's a short chapter, but it works out right that way. Next chapter. Back On Privet Drive._


	3. Privet Drive

**Disclaimer: **So not mine. So unfair.

**Privet Drive**

Uncle Vernon was not exactly pleased to hear that Harry would be home early this summer. He had mumbled and complained the entire ride home from the Train Station. "Why it is, that my dear wife thinks we have a responsibility to keep you, is beyond me, boy." He said in agitation. "And now it is not only for the summer, but part of the school year also. Why were you sent home anyway?"

"Nothing too important. The school was just attacked by Death Eaters. They need time to repair the damage that was done to the structure." Harry mumbled as if he was talking about the weather.

Uncle Vernon turned his plump face to look at Harry. "And these Death Eater's are?"

"Lord Voldemort's followers." Harry answered, expecting to see a flinch at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. But he had forgotten that these muggles knew very little concerning the wizarding world.

"Hmm. Sounds to me as if this school isn't as well protected as it should be." For a moment Harry wondered what the comment meant, but Uncle Vernon said nothing else.

They had just pulled into #4 Privet Drive, and Uncle Vernon ordered Harry to get inside quickly, before he drew the neighbor's attention. Harry did as he was told.

Time passed at a crawl for Harry that summer. It seemed as if his birthday would never come. The Dursley's in their normal fashion acted as if Harry was not even present in their house for the most part, which did not phase Harry in the least. He knew he would never have to see them again after his birthday, and it was a comforting thought. But then again, it was also terrifying. Even though the Dursley's had never showed him an ounce of compassion, or even a smidge of fondness, they had always been a part of his life. Now the uncertainties of his own future weighed heavily upon his mind.

It had taken him hours of arguing with Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia to convince them that they must leave their home the night before his birthday, but finally his blunt assurances that if they stayed, they most assuredly would be killed for their stubbornness, finally convinced them to take Dudley and leave.

Harry watched the clock impatiently for any sign of Dumbledore, and was slightly surprised when the old wizard apparated in the Dursley's living room at precisely 11:30pm. "Professor. You gave me a fright."

"Sorry, Harry. I didn't think it a good idea to use the front door. There are bound to be Death Eaters watching, waiting for midnight, when my enchantment disappears." Dumbledore explained.

"I understand. Umm. Where are we going, Professor?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Harry, I know you will not be pleased with this, but the safest place for you is Grimmauld Place." Dumbledore said calmly. Harry had known that it was a possibility, but still it was hard to hide his look of disappointment. "Now, Harry. It won't be so bad. The Order has started using the Black mansion again. You will not be alone."

Harry knew the next couple of months would be hard on him. He knew everywhere he looked in the Black mansion would remind him of Sirius and the fact that they had, had so little time together, but even in that short time period they had forged a strong connection. Sirius had been the fatherly figure that he had longed to have his entire life, but just as his own parents had been taken from him so had his Godfather. He wasn't sure if he was ready to confront those feelings of loss again.

"Harry, you are a man now. You have faced horrors that most people your age could never imagine. But there is one thing you have been so far unwilling to face." Harry was surprised by Dumbledore's words. What could Dumbledore be referring to? Hadn't he faced Voldemort on several occasions? Hadn't he prevailed during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, when all the odds were against him? Hadn't he risked everything time and again to protect others? He began to open his mouth to deny the words, but Dumbledore interrupted him. "Harry, you must face the pain that is in your heart. You will never be whole until you do."

Harry felt as if he had been drenched in ice-cold water. Was the pain he felt so obvious to others? He had thought he was doing a fairly decent job of hiding it, but here was Dumbledore telling him to face that pain. "Professor, I…." But he knew not what to say.

"It will eat you alive from inside, Harry. I told you that the one thing you possessed that Voldemort never could, the one thing that made you stronger than him was your capacity for love. The pain in your heart is killing that, Harry. If you continue on the road you are upon now, you will steadily become more and more bitter, until your one advantage is gone." Dumbledore warned him. Harry opened his mouth again, unable to force a sound from it. "Don't speak now. Think about it. You will understand."

With that Dumbledore laid one hand upon Harry's arm and Harry began to feel that queasy feeling he associated with disapparating. With a loud pop they apparated directly in front of #12 Grimmauld Place, and Dumbledore went about slipping them through all of the defensive wards that had been placed on the Headquarters of the Order of the Pheonix.

As they stepped through the open front door, the hall clock struck midnight, and Harry officially became an adult. The next moment he heard several calls of "Happy Birthday, Harry." There waiting for him were most of the members of the Orders inner circle, along with Ron, Hermione and Ginny. Dumbledore's words forgotten for the moment he received hugs from Hermione, Ginny and Molly Weasley, and several handshakes, and congratulations from Ron, Remus Lupin, Arthur Weasley, and Mad-eye Moody.

"Dumbledore didn't say you were here." Harry said after he had gotten away from the adults and was speaking to Ron and Hermione alone.

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world, Harry." Ron said as the three of them sat in the family room together.

"I'm glad you're here." Harry said smiling for the first time in months. "Where'd Ginny go?" He added looking around and seeing that she hadn't followed them.

Ron looked down frowning slightly. "She's upstairs with Bill. She's been watching over him like a mother hen ever since it happened. She always was closer to him than any of the rest of us."

"I'm worried about her." Hermione said. "I heard her arguing with your Mum yesterday. She says she's not going back to school this year. She's staying with Bill."

"What." Harry was shocked to hear that Ginny might not go back to Hogwarts. "What does Bill think about all of this?"

"He doesn't know. Mum doesn't want to upset him, and he likes having Ginny around. He's still not adapting well to what's going on. Sometimes I don't think he even knows who he is." Ron admitted sighing loudly. "But anyway, lets not talk about that now. It's your birthday, Harry. This is supposed to be a party." Ron said standing and retrieving a present from the mantel over the fireplace. "Here. It's from both of us."

Harry opened the package, and found a leather bound photo album. When he opened the first page he saw a picture of the three of them standing in the Main Hall at Hogwarts. It was from their first year at Hogwarts and it was hard for Harry to believe that they had ever looked that young and naïve. As he flipped through the pages he saw pictures of all of his friends from both the Order and Hogwarts. "How did you get all these pictures?"

"Well a lot of the ones from Hogwarts were taken by Colin Creevey, and some were from the school annuals. I asked him to send them to me, and Ron's mom took the pictures of the Order for us." Hermione answered.

Harry couldn't stop the smile that crossed his lips as he saw a picture of Ron coughing up slugs, after a spell he was trying to cast on Draco Malfoy backfired on him, because of a broken wand. "Mione. I told you not to put that one in." Ron said seeing the horrible picture.

"Sorry. I guess I didn't hear you." Hermione said winking at Harry.

"These are great, you two. I've been meaning to get some pictures of us, but I didn't think the Dursley's would let me keep…" But Harry's words faded as he turned to the last page of the Album. It was a picture of he and Sirius. Harry was laughing so hard in the picture that he had started coughing. Sirius was slapping him on the back, and had a rare smile on his own face. Harry remembered the day the picture had been taken. Lupin had just told Harry of one of the many pranks Sirius and his father had played while attending Hogwarts. Harry had forgotten that Tonks had been snapping pictures that day. Harry sat watching himself. He had been so happy that day. The pressures of the world seemed a million miles away.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked sliding a little closer to Harry on the overstuffed couch. "We thought you'd like a picture of Sirius."

"I told you we shouldn't put that in there." Ron said sitting down on the other side of Harry.

"It's okay." Harry said, his voice sounding rough to his own ears. "Thanks, for the album. I like it." He said closing the album and standing. "You know. I'm sort of tired. I think I'll go to bed now." He didn't wait for them to say anything else as he left the room, and started up the stairs.

Remus Lupin had just stepped out of the kitchen and saw Harry heading up. "Harry."

"I'm tired, Remus. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Harry said hastily as he picked up his speed on the steps.

He slammed the door to the room he would share with Ron. His trunk was already there and he immediately opened the lid gingerly placing the album inside, and then closed the trunk, knowing he would not be able to look at the album again. Then he lay down on the bed staring up at the ceiling.

He wouldn't let the tears fall again. It had been over a year since he had cried for Sirius, but it had been easier to forget while staying at Hogwarts. But here in Sirius' home, with the memories surrounding him, it was impossible to forget what he had lost. He could feel the tears threatening, but refused to let them go. "I won't do this again." He said bitterly, letting his anger flow instead.

He thought instead about the ones he blamed for Sirius' death. The face of Bellatrix Lestrange floated in his vision first. She had killed Sirius, her own blood. But to her that had meant nothing. And then there was Severus Snape. Snape who was supposed to be one of them; one of the Order. He had goaded Sirius every time they saw each other, going as far as to imply that Sirius was a coward for remaining hidden in this house. Voldemort, who had tricked Harry into going to the Ministry of Magic that night, using Sirius as bait. But most of all Harry blamed himself for not seeing through Voldemort's tricks. Sirius had come to save him, and he had died in doing so.

Harry stood up feeling his anger boiling to the surface again. He paced around the room looking for an outlet for his anger. He saw the photo frame that belonged to Phineas Nigellus. Phineas Nigellus was Sirius' great, great, grandfather, and had also once been a headmaster at Hogwarts. He wasn't in the picture frame at the moment though. He was bound to be sleeping in the frame that was in Dumbledore's office. But even he was not left out of Harry's anger. He remembered the times that the portrait had called Sirius a good for nothing. Before he realized what he was doing Harry balled his fist and punched the glass frame, shattering it into a million pieces. The pain in his hand was enough to cool Harry's temper immediately. He grasped his aching hand as he plopped back on his bed. He could see the blood slipping through his fingers and landing on the carpet. He grabbed a sheet from the bed and wrapped the hand quickly then chided himself. "Would serve me right if I bled to death."

At that moment the door swung open, and Ron entered with a wide-eyed expression on his face. "What the bloody hell was that?"

_

* * *

Author's Note: I know, I know. Evil cliffie. I'll probably post the next chapter right after this so I don't get too many death threats._


	4. Never Alone

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. Too bad.

**Never Alone**

"Shut the door." Harry called out peering around Ron and seeing that the corridor was empty.

Ron did as Harry said looking around and seeing that the floor was covered in glass. He looked to Harry and saw the sheet, which was turning red. "Blimey, Harry. What did you do?"

"I slipped. Put my hand into the picture." Harry lied, not wanting to reveal his own stupidity.

"Lets see." Ron said sitting on his own bed facing Harry.

Harry slowly unwrapped the sheet, and Ron could see that the knuckles were all badly sliced. "Harry, I got to get my Mum. That looks bad."

"No, Ron. She'll just worry." Harry said quickly. Harry could not bear to see the motherly expression of worry that Molly Weasley would have if she saw his hand.

"I have to get someone, Harry. You'll bleed to death. I don't know any healing charms." Ron said shaking his head.

Harry thought for a moment, and then decided. "Get Lupin." He knew he'd be in for a lecture, but that was better than the pity from Ron's Mum.

Ron returned in just moments with Lupin who looked frazzled. "What is this about, Ron?"

"Harry." Ron said pointing at his friend.

"I had an accident." Harry said holding his hand out still wrapped in the blood-drenched sheet.

Remus immediately sat on the bed facing Harry, and unwrapped the hand. "Accident, huh." He said pulling his wand out and whispering some words. The shards of glass that had been buried in his hand floated up first. "Ron, get me that water basin. Its needs to be cleaned before I do the mending charm." Remus instructed.

Ron did as he was told and watched as the water turned bright red. After it was clean Remus whispered another charm and the cuts mended themselves. "That will be sore for several days. Now, Harry. Do you care to tell me how this happened?"

"It was an accident. I slipped and my hand went into the frame." Harry felt guilty lying to Lupin, but he could not admit that he had done something so childish.

"Harry, we all get angry sometimes." Remus said shaking his head. "It happens."

"I'm not angry." Harry said defensively.

"Ron, do you mind leaving us for a moment?" He said politely, but neither Harry nor Ron doubted that it was a command and not a request.

Ron did as he was asked, and Remus began speaking again. "Harry, I hate to see you like this. Hurting yourself will not bring Sirius back."

Harry swallowed hard. "I did not cut myself on purpose. And you don't have to tell me that Sirius isn't coming back. I know that far too well." The words came out harsh and bitter.

"Why must you turn to anger? I am trying to help you, Harry." Remus said sighing heavily.

"I don't want to discuss this." Was Harry's only reply. "Now, I really am tired. Can I go to bed?"

Remus looked at him for a moment looking as if he was trying to make a decision. He stood abruptly and walked to the door, but before he opened it, he turned back. "You're not the only one who misses him, Harry. With James gone, and Peter turned, I'm the only one left. I figured you of all people would realize that. You're not alone in your grief, Harry. Never alone." Remus turned back to the door and opened it.

"Lupin." Harry's voice stopped him. "Thanks…. For the hand." He said still unable to express his true feelings.

"You're welcome." Remus said tapping the picture frame beside the door and saying "Reparo." The glass seemed to fly back to the picture frame and it looked as good as new, then he was gone.

Ron came back in, but Harry didn't want to talk. He immediately lay on his side facing away from Ron, hugging the hand that still throbbed.

"Harry, when you want to talk… Well I'm here." Ron said knowing that his friend was in more pain than he'd ever admit to.

Harry didn't answer. He couldn't.

* * *

The days and nights spent at the Black mansion seemed even more endless to Harry than the ones he had spent at the Dursleys. He was rarely left alone in any room, and it seemed as if they all walked around him on eggshells. At least once a day someone would try to get him to open up to them, but Harry refused to speak of his feelings. He knew deep down that they were all trying to help him, but he resented the effort just the same. He was not some crazy invalid that needed to be monitored all the time; for fear that he might hurt himself. But he could not tell them that. So he kept silent accepting the way things were.

The only thing he was able to say to his friends was that things would be better when they were back at Hogwarts. So on the first day of September the Order escorted the three students to the train station. Ginny had finally convinced her mother that she would not go back to school until she was sure Bill would be okay. Harry only said half-hearted goodbyes though, and boarded the train before anyone else.

But once he entered the Hogwarts Express Harry did start to feel a little better, and he even caught himself smiling at some of the stories that Luna Lovegood was telling Neville Longbottom. When Ron and Hermione had found which car they were in they were both glad to see a smile spread across Harry's face again.

"This is our last year. Can you imagine? Do you think it will be calmer than the rest?" Ron asked eating a Pumpkin Pastie.

"I wouldn't lay odds on it." Harry said. They had never had a calm year at Hogwarts, and Harry did not see how this one could be any different.

"Oh well. Wishful thinking, I guess." Ron said scowling slightly.


	5. The Sorting

**Disclaimer: **I just want one. Please. No huh.

**The Sorting**

They had all gathered in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, and Harry could see that Horace Slughorn was no longer at the staff table. He wondered if maybe the man had finally raised the courage to leave and go into hiding as he had suggested upon his first meeting with Harry. Harry hoped that this would be the case. He had never particularly liked the teacher.

But his attention was turned to the stool placed in front of the staff table. Upon the stool sat a worn and patched wizards hat, which Harry knew to be the Sorting Hat. He sat patiently as the hat sung it's newest song, but paid little attention to what it was saying. For three years now it had expounded the needs of the four Hogwarts houses to band together in unity to face the dark times ahead. Harry showed no interest this year in the song though. His mind was too preoccupied with going over all of the events of the past three years. He knew that Dumbledore would never give up looking for the remaining Horcruxs' and it was his responsibility to aid Dumbledore in this task, as best he could.

After the sorting hat was finished with the new first years Harry was surprised to see that it was not removed from the room yet. Albus Dumbledore stood and called for silence. "My dear students. You know that I am not one to delay when there is good food to partake of, but I have two more tasks to attend to before we begin the feast. Firstly, Professor Snape has agreed with me that his services will be of better use returning to the post of Potions Master, which has been left empty by the absence of Professor Slughorn who has retired for good this time, he tells me. And that leaves us yet again with the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher open. A good friend of mine, who is a very capable Auror, Nymphadora Tonks, has agreed to fill the post for this year." At that moment they could see Tonks entering through a door behind the staff table. Her bright pink hair and brilliant purple robes drew the attention of all present.

Harry looked to Ron and Hermione who looked just as shocked as he was. "Tonks, a Professor." He said incredulously. Tonks was no child, but neither was she an old and wizened wizard as the other Professors had all seemed. Ron just shrugged, and Hermione beamed.

"I think she'd make a wonderful Professor." She admitted, looking to the Staff table and giving Tonks a small wave. Tonks noticed and waved back, then promptly knocked over a water goblet.

"And the second order of business is the fact that we have a new student, who is a transfer from Beauxbatons Academy. I know it is very odd for schools to accept transfers, but I would like you all to welcome her." At those words a dark haired girl appeared from the door that the first years had entered through. She was dressed in Hogwarts robes, and Harry guessed that she must be at least a fifth or sixth year student. Her dark hair hung in waves half way down her back, and she had a rather pleasant face, and brilliant emerald green eyes.

"Students, this is Valissa Malfoy, and she will be a sixth year student here." Dumbledore continued, but at the name the hall erupted in whispers. Harry's eyes went wide and he looked towards the Slytherin table where Draco was staring back at him with a smug look. He stood and did something that shocked Harry. He turned towards the girl standing at the front of the room and bowed low showing respect.

Harry saw that the girl turned bright red at his action. She mouthed the words. "Stop, Draco." And then looked down in embarrassment.

"Quiet, quiet." Dumbledore said raising his hands. "Please, before the questions start flying, I will tell you that Valissa is Draco Malfoy's sister. Now you can gossip among yourselves later. Miss Malfoy needs to be sorted."

A loud snort was heard from the Slytherin table where Draco had resumed his seat sitting backwards and lounging against the table. "That is a waste of time, Dumbledore. You know that all Malfoys end up in Slytherin."

"Draco, silence." Snape bellowed from the staff table. Draco immediately closed his mouth, but his scowl deepened at being called down by the head of Slytherin House.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, but it is tradition that all new students to Hogwarts are sorted." Dumbledore said smiling at the scowling teenager. "Now, Miss Malfoy, please take a seat on the stool and place the sorting hat upon your head."

The students all watched the young lady as she slowly sat and placed the sorting hat upon her head. Only the girl could hear the hat's voice as it discussed with itself what house to place her in. "Very interesting." The hat started. "Intelligence you have. And bravery. Very good traits, which are seen in both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. But I also see loyalty. Now that is a trait most seen in Hufflepuff. But then again cunning you also possess. That is a Slytherin quality. Where to put you." The hat deliberated with itself.

"Excuse me, but I thought all Malfoys ended up in Slytherin. That's what my brother told me." She answered politely.

"Yes, my dear, they usually do. But…." The hat paused, and then shouted out, "Gryffindor."

You could have heard a pin drop in the room. The girl turned to Draco who was gaping in surprise. But soon he wasn't gaping, but had stood and was stalking straight towards the front of the room. "This is outrageous." He bellowed when he stood directly in front of the staff table.

No one else in the Great Hall made a sound. Even Ron was at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, but the sorting hat is not to be questioned. If it says your sister belongs in Gryffindor, then she will be placed in Gryffindor." Dumbledore said calmly not showing any anger at the outburst.

"If my father were here, you would not get away with this." Draco said petulantly.

"Mr. Malfoy." Snape said angrily.

Dumbledore continued as if Snape had never spoken. "Well your father is not here, Mr. Malfoy. So you will have to make do with what is offered."

"This school is a joke." Malfoy said in disgust. "And you are a senile old man, Dumbledore."

"Draco." Snape said rising and began to circle the table.

But the girl, who had been standing quietly to the side holding the sorting hat, approached him first. She dropped the hat to the stool, and stepped up to Draco's side. "Draco, don't do this." She whispered. He turned to her and she could see the rage in his eyes. "It will work out, brother. Please, your anger serves no purpose now." She continued taking one of his hands in her own.

Dumbledore had motioned for the food to appear, hoping that the students would be distracted enough to give the staff and two students privacy.

The anger faded slightly at the touch of her hand. "But you are my sister. You are not a Gryffindor." He said shaking slightly.

"I can be both, Draco. Please this is our home now. We must make the best of it." She whispered back.

At that point Severus had made his way to where Draco stood. He immediately grasped Draco's arm, and pulled him around facing him. "You will apologize to the Headmaster."

"Severus, I understand the boy's frustration." Dumbledore said quietly.

"It is still inexcusable. Draco." Snape said his face red with anger.

Draco looked at Dumbledore with a sneer on his face, but Snape shook him slightly. The sneer disappeared. "I apologize." He said between gritted teeth.

"Now. Go to your common room, Mr. Malfoy. A meal will be sent to you." Snape ordered thinking it best to remove the boy from the room.

"Don't bother. I've lost my appetite." Draco said turning away from them and stalking from the room. Valissa watched her brother go, and was disappointed that her first day at Hogwarts, was going so wrong. She wanted to go after him. But knew that Professor Snape would not approve. So she instead turned and walked to the Gryffindor table and took the last seat on the end staring down at the empty plate in front of her. Before the sorting she had been terribly hungry, but her hunger had faded, and she only wished for the feast to be done.

The Gryffindors surrounding her did not speak to her, but instead whispered to each other. She did not pay attention to the others, as she was lost in her own thoughts.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had watched the entire exchange, and were all staring at the girl. "That's horrible." Hermione broke the silence.

"You can say that again." Ron agreed. "Now we got a Slytherin spy in our house." He added scowling at the new girl.

"Ron, that's not what I was getting at." Hermione chided him. "Everyone's talking about her, and won't talk to her. It's not her fault she's a Malfoy."

"Are you cracked? You feel sorry for her. She's Draco's sister, Hermione. You saw that touching scene up there. She'll tell him everything we say." Ron said disgustedly.

"Ron, she was trying to calm him, to diffuse the situation. She was being very practical. How can you judge her, without ever speaking to her?" Hermione argued.

"The same way the Malfoys always judge my family." Ron said coldly.

"That's exactly why I would expect you to be above that sort of behavior, Ron. Tell him I'm right, Harry." Hermione turned to Harry, who was staring at the girl.

"What, Hermione? Sorry I was just thinking." Harry said turning to his friends.

"Tell Ron that he shouldn't judge everyone by their family." Hermione said scowling at Ron.

Harry thought of Sirius, whose entire family had been purebloods and hated anyone not like them. But Sirius had not been that way. He had been a friend to Harry's mother who was from a muggle family. "No, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover." He decided. "But maybe we should keep an eye on her, until we see what she's like."

"If you think so, Harry. But I can tell you, she'll be no different than her brother, when it's all said and done." Ron warned.

Hermione was furious. She looked Ron square in the eye and said something sure to get his goat. "Well, if we go by your theory, then that makes you no different than Percy, now does it."

"That's cold, Hermione." Ron said with a disgusted look on his face.

"Just keep an open mind, okay Ron." Harry asked staring back at the girl who was twirling a fork on her empty plate.


	6. The First Secret

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

_Author's Note: I should mention, that since I changed the end of book 6 Harry never learned who the Half Blood Prince was, since in Rowling's version Snape told Harry after killing Dumbledore. Just didn't want to cause any confusion._

_I also wanted to send a special thank you to Larien. You have read and reviewed every story I have posted on here no matter what the genre, and you have helped me in many ways whether it be my deplorable attempts at French or giving me that nudge that it takes to get the creative juices flowing. Thank you._

**First Secret**

The School had been in session for nearly three weeks, and it was not hard to see what the other Gryffindors thought of having a Malfoy in their house. Harry watched as Valissa entered the common room and took a seat at a far table in the corner. The three fourth years that had been sitting at the table immediately stood and moved to another table. Valissa watched them move, but said nothing at the obvious affront. She spread her books out ignoring the dark stares she was receiving from several of the other students in the room.

For some reason Harry felt a sudden urge to yell at the offensive students. He remembered on other occasions when he had been the one receiving the dark looks, and everyone but Ron and Hermione had avoided him. But at least he had, had Ron and Hermione. He knew that Valissa had made no friends since starting there, and had very little opportunity to see her brother. He was sitting in an overstuffed chair reading from his potions textbook. He knew he would have to work harder than ever to pass Potions with Snape teaching it again. Ron and Hermione were sitting at a nearby table, and Ron was looking over Hermione's notes from History of Magic class.

Harry watched, as Valissa seemed to be looking at her own sixth year Potions textbook. She had a look of frustration on her face. He saw her crossing out several lines of text she had just written on a piece of parchment. Then she picked the paper up scanning what she had written. A frown crossed her face and she immediately wadded the parchment up and threw it into the nearby fireplace. She sighed heavily and pulled out a clean sheet of parchment starting over.

He wasn't sure why he had done it, but before Harry knew what he was doing he was standing next to the table Valissa was at staring down at her. After a few moments Valissa seemed to realize that someone was standing there, and looked up at him. The calm smooth expression on her face did not falter. "Yes." She said placing her quill on the table and folding her hands.

"May I sit here?" Harry asked, not sure what else to say.

For a moment he saw a surprised look cross her face, but the calm exterior she always put forward soon masked it. The entire common room had become eerily silent, as everyone stared at Harry, not sure what reaction to have concerning these events. "Of course." Valissa answered moving her books to make room for his own.

Valissa picked her quill up again and began writing, but soon was scratching out her work again.

"I see you've discovered how hard it is to please Snape." Harry commented.

Valissa looked up with a look of disgust on her face. "Yes. I have failed half of the assignments so far. At Beauxbatons I had very high marks in Potions, but either Professor Snape just expects too much, or my old Potions Master was just a pushover."

"I think its Snape. No one does well in his class, unless they are in Slytherin." Harry explained smiling ruefully.

"That's encouraging." She said smiling back at him.

"I actually did well last year in Potions, but that was with Slughorn as the teacher. Maybe I could help you. I still remember some of it." Harry suggested.

"Thanks. I'd appreciate it." Valissa answered. "It's Harry, right?" She added.

"Yeah, sorry. And you're Valissa, right." Harry said a little embarrassed that he hadn't even introduced himself.

"I prefer to be called Val." She answered.

"Okay, Val." Harry said moving to the other side of the table so he was sitting beside her, looking at the paper she was writing.

If they had looked up, they would have seen more than several amazed stares, and even gaping mouths. Ron and Hermione had stopped talking and just stared at them. But before long Hermione gathered her books and pulled Ron over to the table and sat down across from Harry and Val.

Harry looked up from Val's paper. "Hey guys." Val also looked up not sure what to expect. "Val, this is Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley."

"Hello, nice to meet you." Val answered smiling brightly at them.

Hermione immediately smiled back, and started chatting with Val. But Ron said little and smiled even less.

After a little small talk Harry continued to help Val with her Potions homework, until Hermione interrupted them. "Harry, you aren't telling her about stuff in that horrible book, are you?"

Harry did realize that he was passing on some of the tips that he had learned from the Half Blood Prince's textbook. "Yes, I am. Just the ones that were harmless." Harry answered. "I'm not going to teach her anything dangerous."

Val looked in confusion at Harry. "Don't worry, just some notes I found scribbled in an old Potions textbook last year. They helped me a lot."

"Oh, I see. Well I'll take all the help I can get. I need it." Val answered.

Hermione frowned again. "Don't worry, Hermione. I'm not going to go get the book back."

"I certainly hope not." Hermione said looking back to her Arithmancy homework. Harry gave Ron a mischievous look that Hermione did not see.

* * *

During the next few weeks rumors flew all over Hogwarts as whisperings of a friendship or possibly more between Harry Potter and Valissa Malfoy were spreading rampantly. Fortunately for Valissa, she had been able to avoid Draco. He had started eating his meals in the Slytherin common room instead of he great hall. She thought maybe he was avoiding her.

It had started out as a bright sunny summer day, and Harry, Ron, Hermione and Val were sitting next to the lake during a free period they shared after the noon meal. Ron had stopped giving Val dirty looks, but still remained quiet around her. Harry and Hermione on the other hand enjoyed Val's company immensely. She wasn't anything like Draco. She was kind, had a wonderful sense of humor, and never acted like a typical Malfoy.

"What was Beauxbatons like, Val?" Hermione asked, stretching out lazily and staring across the lake.

Val didn't answer immediately. But eventually she began to speak. "It was beautiful. The Academy is dedicated to the more artistic side of magic. A lot of flare, and less practical magic, though. Girls were also taught to be proper young ladies." She paused for a moment and then added. "I hated it." She didn't look at them. Instead she concentrated on plucking a piece of grass from the ground.

They all three stared at her not sure how to take her statement. She could feel their eyes on her and knew she would have to explain more. "Beauxbatons was all about status. Your friends were chosen depending on who your parents were. And making friends outside of your rank was frowned upon, not by the Headmistress, or the teachers, but by the other students and their parents. I was told who I could be friends with, and whom I couldn't."

"So your friends were.." Hermione started but was not sure what to say.

"I was supposed to be friends with certain girls. Daughters of Death Eaters they called themselves in secret. Honestly considering my father's top position among the Death Eaters, I should have been the leader of the DDE." She admitted.

"A whole bunch of future Death Eaters in skirts, learning to be ladies. Now that's rich." Ron said sarcastically. "What were the meetings like? Did you choose which Muggle Borns and Blood Traitors to terrorize weekly or monthly?"

Val looked up immediately shocked by the horrible accusation.

"Ron." Harry said in irritation.

"No, Harry. I'll answer him. He's never going to get this out of his system if he continues to brew and boil over it." Val said regaining her composure. "I never attended a meeting of the DDE, Ron. I refused to join them. I chose not to have friends. I didn't want friends like that."

"Are you saying in the five years you attended the Academy, you never had a single friend?" Hermione asked.

"I tried to make friends with some of the lower ranking girls, but they were all afraid of the DDE. I guess that's why when everyone started avoiding me here at first it didn't surprise me. I was used to it." Val explained.

Ron looked down slightly ashamed, but Val wasn't finished talking. "Ron, I know what my father is. I'm not happy about it, but then again he was never happy with me either, so the feeling is mutual. Why do you think I was sent so far away to school? I didn't come home for holidays. They never came to any of my school functions. Hell, the only post I ever received from them were threats that if I didn't straighten up, and act like a proper pureblood, I would be shipped off to the farthest reaches of Africa."

"I'm sorry, Val." Ron said quietly.

"Don't be. I chose what my life would hold. I could have acted like a proper Malfoy, and been a pampered little twit, but that wasn't me. I'm happy with my life as it is. I'm happy being what my father would term as a Blood Traitor. If I can have friends like you three, then to hell with what my father thinks." Val said smiling at Ron rebelliously.

"I promise to think before I open my big mouth again." Ron said smiling, but his smile turned to a frown as he looked over Val's shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing, Valissa?" An angry voice spoke up behind her.

She stood turning slowly and faced the sneering face of her brother. "Just enjoying the weather, Draco."

Harry, Ron and Hermione stood hands close to their wands in case of trouble.

"I had heard rumors, but never dreamed they would be true. Why are you associating with these freaks?" Draco said in a disgusting tone.

"I will associate with anyone I please, Draco. You ought to know that better than anyone." Val answered still in a very calm voice.

"What do you think father would say?" Draco said accusingly.

"Father is in Azkaban, Draco. And if he ever leaves Azkaban he will be killed. So tell me what difference does it make what he would say? Neither of us is ever likely to see him again." Val didn't want to hurt Draco, but she was tired of the self-deluded attitude her brother took concerning their father.

Draco's face turned blood red as he lost all control of his anger. "You ungrateful little tart. You know what could have happened to you after your mother's death. He didn't care whether they kept you or not. And my mother sure didn't want you. If it wasn't for me, you would have been in a muggle orphanage faster than that." He said moving closer with every word until they were but inches apart and then snapped his fingers in front of her face. "And this is the loyalty you show me."

Val closed her eyes trying to block out the hateful words. "I am loyal to you, my brother. No matter how loathsome you act. No matter how rude you are. No matter how many times you use my mother's memory to hurt me, I continue to love you. If that's not loyalty, I don't know what is." Her eyes flew open with the last sentence and Draco could see the unshed tears she held there. Then she pushed past him and headed to the castle at a fast pace, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible.

Draco stood frozen for a moment, not even realizing that the three people he hated most were staring at him in disgust. Her words had struck a truer note than he wanted to admit to himself. She was the one hanging out with his enemies. Didn't that give him the right to be angry with her?

After a moment or so he realized that he had wasn't standing there alone, and his smirk returned as he sneered at the three friends. "What are you looking at?"

"I'm not sure yet, but whatever it is, it's not human." Hermione said icily. "I didn't think even you would sink that low."

"Who wants to be human?" Draco sneered and pushed past them heading towards the Quidditch Pitch.

Harry, Ron and Hermione headed to the castle following Val. When they reached the Gryffindor common room she was sitting alone in a corner facing the wall. The common room was deserted and the three friends could hear soft muffled sobs. Harry moved forward, as Ron and Hermione hung back letting Harry talk to her alone. He kneeled on the floor next to the chair, so he would be eye level with her. "Val. If you need to talk to someone, I'm a good listener." Harry said placing one hand on her arm. She had both hands over her face.

She pulled her hands down, but her eyes remained closed. "I can't talk about it, Harry."

"Why not?" He asked squeezing her arm softly.

"Because you hate Draco. You won't understand." She answered.

"I will try." Harry said standing and pulling a chair close and also pulling her chair around so she faced him, then sat in front of her, taking one of her hands in his own. He looked to his friends and motioned for them to go. Hermione pulled Ron out of the room knowing that it would be easier for Val to talk if she and Harry were alone. "Come on, Val. Draco is your brother and he hates me with a passion. But I have never held that fact against you yet, have I?"

She looked into his eyes and he could see that she was having trouble deciding. "You promise to keep an open mind?" She asked shakily trying to calm her breathing.

"Yes. I promise. I understand that you care for Draco. He's your blood. I never could stand my cousin, Dudley, but I still saved his life from some Dementors a couple of years ago." Harry explained hoping she would open up to him.

She nodded seeming to decide that she could trust him and then wiped the tears from her eyes, and after a large sigh started to speak. "My mother died when I was five. What Draco says is true. His parents didn't have to keep me. Lucius hated me, just as much as he had my mother at the end of her life. It's hard to believe that he had ever cared for her, but since I'm here apparently he did. And Narcissa wanted nothing to do with me. I never had a happy family life. But from what I've heard neither did you." Val paused looking at Harry realizing how much they actually had in common.

"The Dursleys did little more than tolerate me. But I read in the Profit shortly after term started that the Death Eaters blew up their house when they found it empty on the night before my birthday. I have a hard time feeling sorry for them for some reason." Harry said remembering the night in question. "I was glad though that I had convinced them to leave for the night. I don't want to see them dead. Honestly, I don't want to see them at all."

Val nodded understanding how Harry felt. She hadn't wanted to see Narcissa dead, but she loathed the woman from the first day she had met her. She continued her story. "But Draco was different. He was my protector when we were children. At first he begged them not to send me away, and then when he became older the arguments he had with his mother over me were horrendous. She wanted so badly to be rid of me, but he wouldn't let her do that. They finally compromised, and I was sent to Beauxbatons for school, and during the summer I was allowed to come home. He was such a wonderful big brother. He was brave, and loving, and would never allow anyone to hurt me."

It was hard for Harry to imagine Draco as a protective older brother to anyone. He and Val were as different as night and day. "Why was he so protective of you? I don't see Draco as the big brother type. He's rather on the selfish side from what I've seen."

"He wasn't that way when we were children. He knew my mother, and she treated him as if he was her own son. My mother was a very loving caring woman. I think Draco loved her more than he did his own mother. I know that's hard to believe. But she treated him better than Narcissa ever did. I am a lot like my mother. I don't take after Lucius at all. I guess Draco saw my mother in me. He couldn't bare to let me go, because it hurt so much to let her go." Val paused for a moment thinking back to better times when her mother had treated them both with love, and she could remember a time when she had heard Draco slip and call her mother, Mommy. He had been so afraid that his mother would find out and become angry, but Val's mom had kept his secret till the day that she died, and Val had never told a soul either.

But then her mind turned to darker thoughts as she continued. "But then things changed. I watched as Draco changed over the years. He became more and more like Lucius. I hated to see it happen but I still loved him so much. This summer when I was brought here, and learned of Narcissa's death, it was as if we were children again. He needed me. We were together again, and it was going to be us against the world, just as it had seemed when we were 5 and 6 years old. But now…" Her words ended there. She could not finish the sentence.

"He took his mother's death hard?" Harry asked remembering the day he had heard Malfoy's changed voice coming from Dumbledore's office.

"Narcissa loved Draco, but it was a different type of love than what my mother had shown us both. Narcissa was proud of Draco, and she enjoyed showing him off to her friends, but she was rather impersonal with him. Oh she spoiled him and bought him anything he desired but I never once saw her hug or kiss him. But she was his mother. And he also felt responsible for her death. That was the worst of it. I spent the summer months here with Draco. Dumbledore came to Beauxbatons personally and collected me. We were alone most of the summer, and it felt as if time had reversed itself, and we were small children again. But this time I was protecting him, from the pain and guilt he felt." Val hoped Harry could understand. She didn't completely understand it herself. She just knew that Draco needed her, and in a way she felt like she was letting him down.

Harry understood pain and guilt. He understood it better than most people he knew. But something she had said outside was stuck in his mind. "But the way you talked outside he has been cruel to you for some time now." Harry pointed out.

"The more arrogant he gets the more often we disagree. When that happens he always brings up my mother's death and reminds me that he was the only one who ever wanted me in the Malfoy family. I know this vindictive attitude is what he has learned from our father, but still it hurts." She said explaining the way things had become between her and Draco. "I know he doesn't want to hurt me intentionally. But he feels I have betrayed him by becoming friends with you, Ron and Hermione. I think he feels as if I'm being taken away from him. With father in Azkaban, and Narcissa dead I'm all he's got left, Harry."

"No matter what he thinks is happening and no matter who you choose to be friends with, he still has no right to hurt you, Val." Harry said as his fists balled up on the arms of the chair.

Val could see the angry look upon Harry's face, and quickly placed her hands over his. "Harry, I know you're angry, but please promise me that you will let me handle my brother."

"I'm not going to stand back while he mentally abuses you, Val." Harry said knowing she would not want to hear that.

"I can handle Draco. Please, Harry, just let me take care of it." She pleaded with him.

"Earlier today it didn't look like you were handling it too well. I know you feel as if Draco is your protector, Val. But whose going to protect you from him?" Harry asked realizing that he truly did want to protect her himself.

"Today I was caught off guard, Harry. The last few weeks have been so nice. I have felt like a normal girl for once, who has friends for the first time in her life. I've been happy. I guess I just wasn't expecting that bubble to shatter so easily. I had managed to forget about this private feud between you and Draco. I won't make that mistake again, Harry. You'll see that when I'm on my game I can handle Draco's little tantrums quite well." She assured him.

Harry looked at her skeptically. He wasn't sure if she was just boasting or if she really knew how to push Draco's buttons. "Okay, I'll leave Draco up to you. But I'm warning you, when you accepted us as your friends; you gained three friends that are extremely protective of our own. I can't promise that we won't try to defend you if the need arises."

"I understand, Harry. That sounds fair." Val said letting out a deep breath, which she hadn't realized she had been holding. She knew that none of her problems with her brother had been solved that day, but talking about it had made it seem less of a burden to carry. "Let's go find Ron and Hermione. I wouldn't put it past Ron to be planning some kind of revenge on Draco."

"Ron's attempts at revenge usually backfire on him, so maybe we better find them quickly." Harry suggested laughing as he remembered the slug curse again.


	7. Correspondence

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

**Correspondence**

Draco Malfoy sat alone in the Slytherin common room, staring at the green flames burning in the fireplace. He found himself doing this more and more often as the year progressed. All of the Slytherin students whose parents were secretly Death Eaters avoided him at all costs. He knew who they were, and Dumbledore and Snape had asked him several times to divulge the information. But he knew better than to do something like that. As it was they just ignored his presence, but if he were to tell their secrets his life would become a living hell. It didn't matter much to him anyway. His two most faithful henchmen Crabbe and Goyle were gone. Their entire families had disappeared during the summer, and Draco knew not what had happened to them. Pansy Parkinson, who had been trying to get him into a relationship since their first year was the only one who really talked to him anymore, but the mere thought of it disgusted him.

Over the summer when Valissa had come to stay at Hogwarts he had been very hopeful at the prospect of having his sister to talk to again. She had always accepted him, no matter what he had done, and he had needed the comfort she offered after his mother's death. His mother had never shown him an ounce of true love, but still she was his mother, and she was dead because he could not kill Dumbledore. That had been a hard blow to withstand, and Valissa had understood how he felt without him even mentioning it. She had helped him to withstand those first few months, and for that he was extremely grateful.

So how had everything gone so wrong between them? She was a Gryffindor. She was friends with Potter and his freaks. And Draco was alone. He could not fathom why she would want to be friends with Mudbloods and Blood Traitors.

His thoughts turned to the last time they had spoken. He had used her mother's memory to hurt her. Why had he done that? He had loved her mother as if she was his own. And she had loved him too. He hated the fact that he had used her against Valissa. He knew how much she missed her mother. They had had so little time together. And then his mother had treated her no better then a House Elf. It wasn't right, and he knew better than to behave as he had been. Snape kept telling him that he was an adult now, and it was time he started acting as one, and for once he had to agree with him. But how could he fix what he had already screwed up. "Damnit, Val. Why can't things be as simple as they were when we were children?" He finally whispered in frustration.

At that moment he heard a squawking noise from one of the common room windows. He looked up and saw his owl, Pemberly, sitting at the window. He had seen little of the animal that year considering he rarely received post. But to his surprise the animal had a package attached to his leg.

Draco immediately stood and retrieved it. "Go on, Pem. I'll find you if I need you." He said to the irritated bird, whom apparently felt neglected by his owner. Pem flew from the window squawking in outrage.

Draco sat again and looked at the package. It was wrapped in plain brown paper, and he began to open it when he noticed the writing on the front.

_Draco Malfoy_

_Slytherin Common Room_

_Hogwarts School_

The words were written in the sharp heavy marks that he recognized as his fathers. His father had not written him since he entered Azkaban, and his fingers started to tremble as he finished opening the package. Would his father hate him for his failure to kill Dumbledore? Would he blame him for his mother's death? These questions rushed to the forefront of his mind.

The package contained a small leather bound book and a letter. He opened the letter and started reading.

_Draco,_

_I'm sorry I have not written sooner, my son. It is difficult to find a way to send post that has not been searched. I have learned of the events from last school year. I cannot say that I am not disappointed that you were unable to perform the task given to you by the Dark Lord.Honestly you were not ready for such a task, but someday you will be._

_I was very upset to here of your mother's fate, but I also do not blame that on you. She trusted Severus Snape, and that was her own mistake. But he will get what he deserves some day also._

_But on to the most important reason why I have written you. There are those among your classmates that have passed information to me through their parents, and I was extremely surprised to hear that Valissa had been brought to Hogwarts. And it was very disturbing to hear of the alliances she has made while there. She has always rebelled against our ways, but this time she has gone too far. Therefore I have asked a friend to retrieve something for me and send it to you with this letter. You should have in your hands a very interesting private journal. Read it and use it well._

_My son, I know that things look bleak for our family at the moment, but have faith in your father. I am working on something now that should restore us to our former glory. In the future, I may need to call on you to help me in this. I trust that I can count on you. Do not send a reply to this post. It would most likely be intercepted._

_L.M._

Draco read the letter several times. He thought he would be elated that his father did not despise him, but it didn't seem to mean that much to him compared to the problems he was bogged down with. He pulled the journal out of the package and opened the first page. His eyes grew wide as he saw the name on the page.

_This is the private journal of Helena Maxwell Malfoy. If this journal does not belong to you, continue reading at your own peril._

He swallowed hard at the name. Helena was Valissa's mother. This was her private journal containing all of her most private thoughts, and he held it in his fingers. In the case of most journals they were hexed so only the owner could read them, unless the owner was dead. So he knew he could open the journal and read it. But a thought had occurred to him. If he were to give this journal to Valissa, would she not see it as a peace offering? It was the perfect opportunity to repair the damage he had caused. But his father had told him to read it and use it. What did he mean by that?

Draco stood and went up to his dorm room and lounged comfortably on his bed. It was too late to find Valissa and give her the journal, so what would it hurt to read a few entries? He opened the journal again somewhere near the middle and picked a random entry.

_Today was the most wonderful day I have had in such a long time. The children were playing in the garden very early and I was watching them. They are so wonderful to watch. Val at three years old is such a dainty little miss. Her beautiful dark hair seems to get longer every day. And Draco, dear little Draco at four years old has decided to become Val's greatest protector. They play games imagining that she is being held prisoner by an evil dragon, and Draco rescues her. They are so very different in both appearance and attitude, but they love each other beyond all others. _

_But I am getting away from what I meant to write. We were picking flowers in the garden this morning, and Draco decided that he must get me a flower from that horrible flesh-eating plant that his father wanted. He said it was the most beautiful flower in the garden. I tried to explain to him that it was bait for animals that got too close. I was sure he would not disobey me. But while I wasn't looking he tried to pick the flower. His scream made my heart freeze. The plant had bitten him, making a large gash in his small hand. I did my best to comfort him as I mended the cut with a spell. But I could tell how upset he was. After he finally calmed down, he whispered something I had never dreamed to hear. He said, "I love you, Mommy." He was so afraid afterwards. He knew his mother would be very angry with him for calling me that. I promised him that I would never tell a soul, and so did Val._

_I have to admit that even though I had been afraid for him also, my heart soared when he called me Mommy. I know he is not my son, but I love him more than I could ever have, even if he had been mine by blood. My one prayer, knowing that I could be gone from this world at any moment, is that he and Val will always remain as they are now, and will never be alone as long as the other is alive._

_As Always,_

_Helena _

As Draco read the last line he swallowed hard, feeling an uncomfortable knot forming in his throat. His hand flew to his eyes and he wiped away the tears that had started to fall. Why did it have to be that passage? He remembered that day, as if it had only been yesterday. Helena had been the mother that Narcissa would not be to him. She had kissed away his hurts and fears, and every time he looked into Val's emerald green eyes, that were identical to her mothers, he felt the same overwhelming love that he had felt for Helena. He closed the journal and slid it under his pillow, knowing then that he would not be able to give it to Val. He wanted to share it with her, but he could not bear to part with it, not yet. "I'm sorry, Val. I need it right now." He whispered to the quiet room.


	8. Quidditch Tryouts

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Quidditch Tryouts**

Harry had continued his role as Gryffindor Quidditch captain, and the team was fairing horribly. The only player he had that had been on the team before was Ron. Katie Bell had been a year ahead of him, so she was gone, and Ginny Weasley had not returned to school. The other members he had had the prior year, had just been temporary, and had not returned. He had already held tryouts weeks before, but it seemed like every practice he lost another teammate to injury. So yet again he was holding another tryout to replace the last practice victim. No one he had seen so far was ready to play on a house team.

"Who's next?" He asked in frustration, burying his face in his hands.

"I am." He heard a familiar voice. He looked up quickly and saw Val standing in front of him holding one of the practice brooms.

"Is this a joke?" He asked in exasperation.

"Why would it be a joke? I do ride you know." She answered him mounting the broom and zooming into the air.

"Hell, why not. She can't do any worse than the rest of them." The tryout was for a chaser position, so Harry had Ron standing goal, as the two beaters hit the bludgers at the students who were trying to score. Each person trying out got five shots at the goal.

He watched as Val zoomed in and out between the beaters, dodging the bludgers, and attempting to score. He watched in amazement as she scored three out of the first four tries. On the fifth try she narrowly missed losing her head to a stray bludger, causing her broom to skid off in the wrong direction.

The amazed look on Harry's face turned to one of concern as he noticed the way Val was tugging on the broom, which was not responding to her commands. Then the look became one of horror as the broom crashed into the empty stands.

Harry and Ron were the first ones to reach her. She was laying crumpled between the seats in the stands, and she was gripping her shoulder in pain. "Val, are you alright?" Ron asked kneeling beside her as Harry kneeled on the other side.

"I've been better." She said groaning.

"What happened?" Ron asked. He hadn't seen her struggling with the broom.

"Bloody broom froze on me. I couldn't turn it either way." Val said sitting up, still clutching her shoulder.

"I shouldn't have let you use the practice broom. Some of them are getting old and worn out. I should have given you Firebolt." Harry said berating himself.

"It's okay, Harry. I picked it out. It's not your fault." Val said wincing in pain. "Do you mind helping me to the Hospital Wing?" She asked as a cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

"Help me, Ron." Harry said grabbing Val around the waist and pulling her up. They each took one side being careful not to touch her shoulder, as they helped her out of the stands, and across the grounds to the school.

Madame Pomfrey pushed the guys out of the room as she inspected the injury. "Two injuries in one week, and two more in the past month. I'm afraid your house team seems to be cursed this year."

After Pomfrey was done fixing Val's shoulder she let Harry and Ron in again. "So what's broken?" Ron asked sitting on the empty bed next to hers.

"Broken collarbone, and dislocated shoulder." Val answered smiling. Madame Pomfrey had given her a potion for the pain, and she was feeling a little light headed.

"That's it. I give up." Harry said in disgust. Both of his friends looked to him in surprise. "Let's face it. We don't have a team this year, and every time I find a decent player they get hurt. The team is costing too much. I'm going to request that Gryffindor be removed from the Quidditch tournament this year." Harry said in a defeated tone.

"No you're not." Val said shaking her head to clear her mind. "I'll be completely mended by the time of the next match."

"You can't seriously be saying that you still want to play." Harry said with a look of shock on his face.

"Why not? You broke your arm your second year. Did you quit playing?" Val said pointedly.

"Well no. But Quidditch meant everything to me." Harry explained.

"Harry, I want to play. If I didn't I would never had tried out. Beauxbatons didn't have a Quidditch team, but Draco told me all about it. I've wanted to play for years now." Val tried to reassure him.

"But you don't have a broom." Harry argued.

"I'll ask Madame Hooch to pick me out a decent one from the practice brooms. She'll let me use one." Val suggested.

"The practice brooms aren't good enough for the house games. You'll get blown away." Harry said trying his hardest to dissuade her.

"Well actually, Harry, she was doing a bloody good job, before her broom bugged out." Ron said irritating Harry to no end.

"Well then. What excuse do you have for not letting me play?" Val asked in a sweet tone. She knew he had him. He could not argue anymore.

"None, I guess." Harry said shaking his head. "Just don't get your fool neck broken, okay."

"I won't, Sir." Val teased.

"Not funny." Harry scowled.

* * *

Madame Pomfrey decided to keep Val overnight, so she would not put stress on the shoulder. Val laid very still, thinking over the events of the day. She hadn't really wanted to play Quidditch. But she had seen all the trouble Harry and Ron were having with the team, and she had always been good on a broom. So she had decided to try it out. It had been fun, until she had crashed.

She did not relish the idea of trying again, but she felt she would let them down if she decided not to play. Her mind was so preoccupied that she didn't hear the door to the Hospital Wing open. She was staring out the window, lost in thought, when a warm hand rested on her arm.

She turned towards the person, expecting to see Madame Pomfrey checking on her again, but gasped in surprise seeing Draco standing next to her bed. Draco held his finger to his lips shushing Val, then turned towards Madame Pomfrey's office and whispered "Mufliato." This spell would keep her from overhearing anything outside her office.

"Draco, what are you doing here?" Val asked.

"I heard what happened. I wanted to check on you." Draco said sitting on the end of the bed facing her.

"But I thought you weren't talking to me." Val said sitting up and leaning against the brass headboard of the bed, so she could face him fully.

"I wasn't." Draco said flashing her a devilish smile.

"And now you're talking to me again?" She asked looking down at the sheets, picking at a loose string.

"You know I can't stay mad at you long." Draco said reaching out and stilling the hand that was nervously pulling on the string.

Val looked up at him, swallowing hard. She opened her mouth to say something, but she wasn't sure what, and closed her mouth again.

"Val, I don't understand some of your decisions, but I'm sorry I was so cruel to you." Draco said looking at her in complete sincerity.

"Draco, you can't keep striking out at me. I don't know how much more I can take." Val said regaining her voice.

Draco closed his eyes for a moment and sighed heavily, then as he opened them again he said something she had not expected. "I don't want to lose you, Val. I don't want to live without your love, Sis. I can't live without you. I'm sorry." Draco said in a pleading tone.

Val could hear the pain in his voice, and it matched the pain she had been feeling during the past few weeks. But there was one more thing she had to know. "And my friends." She whispered.

Draco started chewing his bottom lip seeming to think of what to say before he opened his mouth. "I can't say that I am pleased about your choice of friends. There has been too much bad blood between us."

"But is it so bad that you would begrudge me their friendship? Draco, other than you, I have never had friends. They accept me. They like me. I like them. I need them, almost as much as I need you." Val said grasping his hand as he started to pull away.

"Val, last year your friend Harry nearly killed me." Draco said quietly. Val started shaking her head in denial.

"No. Harry may hate you, but never enough to do that." She whispered.

"I admit that he didn't know what the spell he cast would do. But I have never been in that much pain in all my life. If Professor Snape, hadn't been near by, and hadn't known the counter curse, I would not be alive today." Draco said remembering the day that he and Harry had faced off in a bathroom. "I can't forget that, Val."

"No, you wouldn't be able to." Val whispered in despair. Her best friend had nearly killed her brother, and she was unable to choose between them. She knew Harry would never have done so on purpose. But still it had happened.

"Val, I can't forget what happened, but I can try to put it to the back of my mind, for your sake. If you want them as your friends, I will not try to stop you anymore. Don't expect me to start spending time with them, but I will not jump all over you anymore." Draco said giving her a small smile.

She couldn't believe her ears. He had actually said that he would not try to ruin her friendship with them. "Thank you, Draco. I missed you." She said as her eyes started to water up at his selfless offer.

He immediately leaned forward pulling her into a desperate hug. They sat like that for a few minutes. Val's shoulder hurt from the pressure he was placing on it, but she didn't care. She felt as if her heart was swelling at the way Draco had changed his attitude, and he had done it all for her showing her how much he truly cared. Maybe things would be okay.

He let go of her pulling back but not letting go of one of her hands. She reached up and rubbed her shoulder with the other hand, wincing slightly.

"Damn, I hurt you. I didn't even ask what was wrong." Draco said looking worried.

"It's okay, Draco. I just hurt my shoulder when that crazy broom locked up on me." She said not wanting him to know how bad she had been hurt.

"What broom were you using?" He asked frowning.

"Oh, it was one of the practice brooms. Father never bought me one. Harry said that some of the practice brooms were getting too old and worn to use. I guess I picked the wrong one. Don't worry though, next time I'll have Madame Hooch pick one out for me." She said trying not to worry him.

"What do you mean next time?" He asked suspiciously.

"I'm playing chaser for the Gryffindor house team." Val said nervously.

"Are you crazy? Do you want to kill yourself?" He said a little louder than he meant.

"Draco, I'm really good. I want to play." She said seeing another argument brewing.

He began to say something but held his tongue, remembering his promise not to jump on her again. "Just, be careful, okay." He finally said.

"I promise. I will." She said patting his hand with a triumphant smile on her face.

"I got to go now. If Snape catches me out after hours, I'll get detention." He said standing, but leaned over placing a light kiss on her forehead. "Get some sleep. You look tired."

"I will." She said watching him sneak out of the room.

She could not help the bright smile that was covering her face. But that smile faded when she saw a shimmering object moving in the corner, as Harry suddenly appeared from under his invisibility cloak. "Sorry. I saw Draco heading here on the Marauders Map and thought I should check on you." Harry tried to explain.

"How much did you hear?" She asked scowling.

"Most." He answered her moving closer.

"Do you want to tell me your side of what happened between you two last year?" She asked feeling a small amount of anger.

"What he said was true. I went into the bathroom. He was talking to Moaning Myrtle and he was crying. I was shocked at first. But he pulled his wand, and I defended myself." Harry explained.

"And the spell you used?" She asked as her voice started to fail her.

"It was called Sectumsempra. It was written in that potions textbook I told you about. I wasn't sure what it did. It just said 'for enemies.' I reacted without thinking. I wish now I had never even thought to use that curse. I never wanted to do that to Draco. I got rid of the book after that." Harry paused knowing that his excuses seemed feeble.

"You weren't trying to kill him?" She asked hesitantly.

"No, never. I might have wanted to hurt him. But I never thought of killing him." Harry said with a strong amount of conviction. "I don't know what to tell you, Val. I can't take it back. If I could, I would. I think I was more frightened at that moment, as I kneeled beside him in a puddle of blood, than any of the times I had faced Voldemort. I could not have lived with myself if he had died."

Val nodded, deciding in her mind what she would do. "You heard what Draco said. He isn't going to keep me from being friends with you."

"Yes, I heard. But do you still want that friendship?" Harry asked nervously.

"Harry, I meant what I said. I need your friendship. But I will warn you of one thing. If you ever hurt Draco again, you will have to deal with me. I won't tolerate this war you two have been waging on each other." She said in an icy cold voice.

"Fair enough." Harry said nodding. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said pulling his cloak back on and slipped out the door.

"What have I gotten myself into, now?" She whispered after he was gone.


	9. Second Secret Discovered

**Disclaimer: **Oh you know, not mine.

_Author's Note: Two chapters in one night. Ha, ain't I good? Okay not. I hope you enjoy. I'm getting a little more organized so I should be able to post more often. For those of you who remember the way I used to post chapters, you'll greatly appreciate this._

**Second Secret Discovered**

"That had to have been the best Defense Against the Dark Arts Lesson that I have ever seen." Ron said excitedly as they left Tonks' classroom. "Tonks is turning out to be an excellent teacher."

"Professor Tonks, Ron" Hermione corrected him. "Don't let Professor Dumbledore hear you. You know how he stresses, proper respect."

"But this is Tonks we're talking about, Mione. We've known her outside of Hogwarts for years." Ron said rolling his eyes.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." She answered. "But you are right. I can't decide between her and Lupin as to which is the best."

"There is another name you need to add to that list, Hermione." They heard a dreamy voice right behind them. They turned to see Luna Lovegood walking behind them with a copy of the _Quibbler_ turned upside down in her hands. At the blank looks they gave her she continued. "You forget who taught us two years ago. Harry should be included in that list also."

Hermione turned to Harry. "Well, of course. That goes without saying. Harry tops the list, but I was speaking of our official teachers." Harry blushed at the praise he was receiving, and kept walking on ahead.

"Oh, I see. Yes I do rather enjoy Professor Tonks. She sees things from a different angle than most of our teacher." Luna continued.

Harry thought of something at that moment. "Luna, where's Val? Wasn't she just in Potions with you?" He asked.

"Yes, she was. I'm afraid Professor Snape kept her over. I think he's going to give her detention." Luna answered.

"Why, what did she do?" Harry asked.

"We were supposed to be making a potion to drive away Grindylows. But Val accidentally spilled hers on Professor Snape as she went to turn it in. I guess if placed on human skin it burns terribly." Luna explained in her detached way.

"I bet he's furious." Ron said shaking his head.

"And since it was Val, he'll be even more angry." Harry said as a dark look passed over his face. He remembered all the times he had been given an especially hard time by Snape.

"What does he have against her? You'd think seeing as she is a Malfoy, he'd give her a break. He's always been buddy, buddy with them. Look at the Vow he made to Narcissa." Ron said as they moved further down the hallway.

"Oh but that's the point there, you see." Luna said from behind her paper. "He was close to Narcissa, but seeing as she was Lucius Malfoy's mistress and only second best in his eyes, I'm afraid she long ago convinced Professor Snape that her husbands deceased wife and her child, were not worthy of them."

They all three stopped in their tracks, turning surprised looks towards Luna. She had not seen them stop and had run strait into Ron dropping her paper.

"But, I thought Val's mother was Lucius' mistress. Val is younger than Draco." Hermione said trying to understand what they had been told.

"Oh no. Lucius never married Narcissa until Draco was six years old. My father did a piece on it for the _Quibbler_. That's back when the paper concentrated more on human- interest stories. I guess Val's mother knew all about the affair. Draco went to live with them when he was just a baby. And then after she died Lucius married Narcissa. My father received quite a few death threats over that story, and was forced to print a retraction, but he swears his source was valid." Luna finished the tale and picked her copy of the _Quibbler_ back up and continued down the hall.

They all three looked at each other not sure what to say. But then Hermione broke the silence. "We can't tell anybody about this."

"Why the hell not?" Ron burst out.

"Ron, if this information got out Draco would be completely humiliated." Hermione said with a worried look on her face.

"But that's the point." Ron said relishing the opportunity to humiliate his biggest tormentor.

"Ron, if you hurt Draco, it will hurt Val too. She would be furious." Harry tried to explain.

Ron hadn't thought of it that way. He couldn't believe his rotten luck. The one and only chance he had to bring Draco Malfoy down a notch or two, and he couldn't use it. "This isn't fair." Ron scowled.

"Promise, Ron." Hermione insisted.

His lips curled into a snarl. "Oh, all right. I promise."

Hermione sighed in relief. "I'll go talk to Luna and convince her to keep this information to herself." With that she took off at a fast pace after Luna.

"I can't believe this." Ron muttered.

"Don't say anything to Val about this either. It would just upset her." Harry suggested.

"Upset her. What about upsetting me?" Ron said petulantly.

"Come on. We have Potions next." Harry said pulling Ron down the hall towards the dungeons entrance.

As they lined up outside Professor Snape's classroom, Harry could hear shouting coming from the room. "I have never in all my days as a teacher, seen such irresponsible behavior." Snape's voice bellowed.

"Oh man, he's really giving it to her." Ron said not noticing that Draco had walked up behind him.

"Whose old Snape torturing today?" Draco said with a malicious grin on his face.

Harry and Ron turned to look at him. "Don't grin too much, Malfoy. It's Val he's yelling at." Harry said angrily.

"What?" His grin immediately vanished as Draco stared at the closed classroom door.

"I'm sorry, Professor Snape." They heard a tearful voice from within the classroom. "It was an accident."

"An accident, Ms. Malfoy. No you are the accident. One your parents I'm sure wished they had never committed. I will not tolerate this type of ineptitude in my classroom, do you understand?" The cold voice rang clearly through the door.

"That's too much." Ron said angrily.

Draco was seething with anger. "This is not happening." He said in quiet rage, and then strode forward yanking the classroom door open.

"Mr. Malfoy, it is not time for your class to begin yet. Please wait in the hall." Snape demanded.

"No, I won't." Draco said defiantly. Ron and Harry entered the room right behind him.

"Get out, all three of you." Snape spat. He was holding a towel wrapped around his burnt hand, and had an almost manic look on his face.

"You are not going to talk to her like that. You've gone too far this time." Draco said viciously.

"No, Draco. It was my fault. I spilled a potion on him. His hand is burnt." Val said stepping between her brother and the professor. "Don't do this."

"I heard what he said, Val. Teachers have no right to verbally abuse students, no matter how bad they mess up." Draco said still scowling at Snape.

Snape seemed to snap back to his senses at Draco's words. A look passed between them for a moment that no one could miss. It was pure loathing, but it was gone within seconds. "I'm afraid Mr. Malfoy is correct. I apologize, Ms. Malfoy. The pain got the best of my senses. Class is cancelled for today. I need to go to the Hospital Wing." With those words he strode from the room receiving awed looks from the other seventh years in the hall.

Val sunk into one of the chairs, and covered her face with her hands. Draco kneeled in front of her. "It's okay, Val. I won't let him treat you like that." He said softly pulling her hands away from her face.

"But it was my fault, Draco. You should have seen his hand. It looks horrible." She cried.

"Listen, Val. He's had something bad coming for some time now. He's always treating the students like dirt below his feet." Ron piped up hoping to help the situation.

Draco turned towards Harry and Ron with a sour look on his face. "Do you mind giving us some privacy, Weaslebee?"

"Now that's not necessary. We're on your side for once." Ron said sarcastically.

Draco gritted his teeth. At the moment he knew that Val didn't need to hear that Snape deserved it. She felt guilty, and she would never lay the blame somewhere else. "Listen, Weasley, she doesn't need this right now. Please, leave us alone." He choked out the words rather bitterly.

"Come on, Ron. He's right." Harry said pushing Ron towards the door. He knew that Val needed her brother after what had just happened.

"Thank you." Draco said seeing the look of understanding on Harry's face.

After they had left, Draco turned back to Val, whose eyes were averted to the ground. Silent tears still ran down her cheeks. "Val, you have been treated inferior for the past eleven years. It's about time that you realized that you are not inferior to anyone. Not to me, not to my parents, and certainly not to Severus Snape. No matter what you did wrong, he had no right to speak to you like that." She began to interrupt him but he placed a finger on her lips. "Ah, I know. You say it is your fault. But it is his fault that he had not enough control to curb his tongue. Accidents happen. We all make mistakes. You apologized profusely. There is nothing more you could have done."

"Why does he hate me so, Draco." Val's voice sounded small and pitiful. It had been eating at her for weeks now. Why did Professor Snape hate her so much?

"I will answer that question, if you promise not to start crying again." He said wiping the tears from her face with the corner of his robe.

"You know?" She hadn't thought he'd actually have an answer, and until the day before he had not. But something he had read in Helena's diary had surprised him greatly.

"Yes. Let's just say, Father gave me that information. But I think you will be surprised." Draco said smiling at her.

She waited patiently sniffling, trying to hold back any more tears. After she had made a good show of it, he finally started talking. "Professor Snape knew our parents when they were our age. He was friends with father here at Hogwarts. And he also knew your mother. She had been a Gryffindor like you. But what not many people knew was that he had fallen for your mother. Father knew, but he didn't care at the time. She was dating a Gryffindor. It wasn't until after school that she and Father got together."

"Snape was in love with my mother?" She had never thought it possible that such a cold being as Snape could love someone.

"Yes, but she turned him down flat. He has been furious ever since. You remind him so much of her, that he can't stand you." Draco explained his theory.

"Well that explains a few things. But what can I do, Draco? I can't survive Potions for the rest of the year the way things are. He makes me so nervous, and I make mistakes. When I spilled that potion today, it was because my hands were shaking so bad." She said in a defeated voice. "If I can't get high enough marks in Potions this year, he will never let me into his class next year. Then I can't take the N.E.W.T for it. I have to have a NEWT in Potions, if I'm going to be a..." But her words broke off. She hadn't meant to tell him that part. Would he disapprove of the profession she wanted most of all?

"Be a what?" He asked curiously.

"I don't want to tell you." She said embarrassed.

"Come on. Tell me." He pleaded. "I won't laugh."

"I want to be an Auror, like Tonks." She said quietly. She hadn't told anyone yet, but she had idolized the young woman since the moment she had entered her class, and she wanted nothing more but to be out there bringing in Dark Wizards.

If it had been anyone else he knew saying that, Draco would have told them that they were crazy. But not Val. She was brave, and smart, and he knew she would always be against the horrors of the world. He knew then that she would be an Auror. She would make an excellent one at that. "Well then. It looks like I need to help you some. You are very smart, but Snape intimidates you. That is your only problem. But I think it is time he stops doing that. I'll take care of it." He said giving her a wide smile.

"Draco. I don't want you to get in trouble with him." Val said worriedly.

"Don't worry. I know how to handle Snape." Draco said formulating an idea.


	10. Black and Blue

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

_Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews guys. Here's another chapter to wet your appetites. This is the start of the true angst. And it mostly get's worse from here on out._

**Black and Blue**

Draco stood outside Professor Snape's office, still not sure if he really should do what he was thinking. It could cost him dearly but it would help Val in the long run. He took a deep breath and then reached up to knock.

The office door swung open and Snape stared down at Draco, with a look of anger on his face. "Malfoy, what are you doing here?"

"We need to talk." Draco said simply making sure not to let any of his anger slip into his voice.

"If it's about your sister, I'm not interested." Snape began to shut the door, but Draco put his hand against it.

"Yes I want to talk about my sister, but I also want to talk about other things." Draco said casually.

Snape so dearly wanted to shut the door in his face, but Dumbledore had ordered him to continue to try to get information from the boy about Death Eater families. So he opened the door instead and ushered him inside.

Snape sat at his desk, and motioned Draco to a seat across from him. Draco sat lounging, attempting to look as casual as possible, when really his insides felt as if they were turning inside out.

"Yes." Snape hissed.

"I want you to lay off my sister. If you'd let her do her work without distraction, you'd see that she's a damn good Potions student." Draco started, but was cut off by Snape.

"Mr. Malfoy, I told you if this is about your sister, I'm not interested in talking." Snape said through gritted teeth.

"Didn't I say there were other things?" Malfoy said in a falsely arrogant tone.

Snape stared at him seeing the tense way Draco's lips were pursed, even as he tried to fool the professor into believing that this was just a simple conversation. "Continue." Severus said in a softer tone.

At that moment Draco lost all pretense of casual attitude as he sat forward. "Tit for tat, Professor."

Snape saw the unspoken agreement that Draco was suggesting in his eyes, but he could not help his curiosity. "Why does she mean so much to you?"

Draco had anticipated this question though. "You knew Helena." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

It had been several yeas since Severus had heard that name, and for a moment his smirk slipped. But then just as quickly a scowl replaced it. "What does that have to do with it?"

"If she had allowed you to, would you have protected her?" Draco asked.

"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Snape asked, a little too coldly.

"You know exactly what I am talking about." Draco said. "I have her journal."

Snape looked stricken for a moment. He had not known that such a thing existed.

"Should I quote it word for word for you?" Draco asked angrily, and then his voice took on a slightly higher pitch as he said the words he had only read a few nights before, but were burned into his memory. "_I know in my soul what is happening to me. I see it every day. I have no control anymore. Severus has seen it also. He has begged me to let him be my protector, but how can I accept? He does not know what they would do to my precious Val if I allowed that. I cannot fight them. I am lost to this world, but am secure in the notion that they will not hurt her, as long as I give in to what they want. The Vow was made. I insisted. My life for hers. If she comes to harm he will lose his precious mistress." _Draco's voice broke at the last few words. "You know what those words mean. You know what they did."

Severus' eyes closed for a moment and he felt an inner trembling that he had not felt in the years since her death. It was fierce blinding anger that had driven him away from the Malfoy family at that time, and again the anger had returned. He took several deep breaths knowing that if he opened his eyes in this state of mind, he would see the face of Lucius Malfoy instead of Draco before him. If he did that, he would not be able to control his rage. After several moments of long steady breathing he felt his anger was under enough control to open his eyes. "I suspected as much, but she would never completely confide in me. There was only one person she would have confided in, but that just was not possible."

For a moment Draco's expression turned to confusion, and Snape saw it. "You haven't read the entire journal have you?"

"Not yet." Draco admitted.

"You will, and when you do, you might better understand your father's rash choices." Snape said letting his normal demeanor slip back into place.

"I would never condone what they did to her." Draco said with white-hot anger coursing through his veins.

"Condone them, no. But you will understand." Snape assured him. "Now, back to why you are here."

Draco wasn't sure of what to make of the cryptic words, but he remembered why he was there. "Do we have an agreement, then?"

"If you insist, Mr. Malfoy." Snape said smirking.

* * *

Days went by as an uneasy peace settled among Val's friends and Draco. There were no snide comments, no vicious remarks and certainly no dueling in the halls.

Val sat in the Dinning Hall with the other Gryffindors. But Draco, as usual, had chosen to eat in the Slytherin common room alone. It was breakfast and the owls had just entered with the daily mail. Hermione reached up to retrieve her copy of the Daily Profit and immediately started reading. A shocked gasp was heard from her throat, and hers was not the only one as several people around the Great Hall did likewise as they opened their papers.

"What is it, Mione?" Ron asked immediately.

"Listen to this. There was a wide scale sweep of over twenty suspected Death Eater residences last night. It is reported that twelve Death Eaters were taken into custody last night and transported to Azkaban Prison, while eight more were taken to St. Mungos, to be held in the High Security wing after sustaining serious injuries. Luckily no one was killed in their apprehension." Hermione paused to skim the rest of the article. "Oh my, these names. They all have children here at Hogwarts." They all immediately turned to the Slytherin table, where angry whispers were flying around the table, and in some cases becoming much louder than whispers.

"I wonder who tipped them off?" Harry said casually.

"It doesn't say of course, but the Slytherin house would not be a place I'd choose to reside right about now." Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Hey, that's just twenty less Death Eaters trying to kill Harry." Ron piped up enjoying watching the frantic looks at the Slytherin table.

They all broke into laughter at the statement and the day did seem a little brighter too.

But it was not bright for one person. Draco had received his copy of the Profit in the common room also. He had skimmed the article, but threw the paper down after the first few sentences. "Well, now it begins."

Days went by and Val had not seen any sign of Draco anywhere. She wondered why he would be avoiding her. She hadn't done anything to provoke him this time, not that she knew of, at least. It was a Saturday, and the students were being allowed to go to Hogsmeade that day. Val smiled brightly at her friends. It was her first trip into Hogsmeade and her friends had promised her an experience she would never forget.

The day had been almost perfect. They had visited Honeydukes, Madame Pudifoots, Zonko's Joke Shop, and had finally ended up at The Three Broomsticks where Val tasted her first butter beer. It was definitely a day to remember.

They decided to swing by the Shrieking Shack to show Val the most haunted dwelling in Britain, which they all three knew more about than most. But as they approached it, they could see a figure sitting on a large boulder staring towards the shack. He had his hood pulled up so they were not sure whom it was, but Val sensed something familiar about the figure before her. "Draco, is that you?"

He did not seem to hear her, so she moved closer, and could barely see his white blond hair inside the hood. She held her hand up to her friends asking them for a moment, which they gave her. Then she walked the final few feet to where he sat. She kneeled beside him. "Draco." She whispered.

He heard her, but it was if she had slapped him. He immediately moved around behind the boulder, and his hood fell down to his shoulders. She gasped at the site before her. His eye was swollen shut and turning a deep shade of blue. His lip was busted and blood was running down his chin from the open wound. She could also see mud caked in his once immaculate blonde hair. When he realized whom he was facing he looked away almost as if in shame. "Val, um…." His words were cut off though.

"What the hell happened to you? Who did this, Draco?" She said as anger started to boil inside her.

"No one, Val. Don't worry. I just had an accident." He said but not convincingly enough for her.

"Yeah, an accident. You just accidentally ran into someone's fist several times." She said sarcastically.

"It's my problem, Val. Stay out of it." He said in a harsh voice.

She could see that he would not supply her with the information she wanted, but all the same her anger did not cool for several moments, until she saw the way he looked away from her, at the shack, at the village, at the forest, anywhere but at her. "At least let me help you get cleaned up." She said in a low voice full of emotion.

He looked at her then, and could see the need in her eyes to do something, anything for him. He could tell that she would have taken on his attackers single-handed and wandless if necessary. But she would settle for patching him up, if that were all he would allow.

He looked over to her friends nervously. She turned and saw that they were all attempting to ignore the conversation, but she also knew they had heard the entire thing. "You guys go ahead. Draco will walk me back when we are done here." She called out. She could see the reluctant look in both Harry and Ron's eyes. They still were not sure if they trusted Draco alone with her. Hermione on the other hand, understood exactly what was going on, and started pulling the boys towards the castle.

"See you later." Hermione called out.

Val had forgotten them completely as she walked around the boulder and pushed Draco to a sitting position. She looked at his face and the pain shot through her heart as she used a handkerchief to wipe some of the blood away from his face, and she saw him flinch. She used the Episkey charm to seal his busted lip, and then started brushing the drying mud from his hair with her fingers. When she was done she surveyed her work. "The blood and most of the mud is gone, but I can't do anything for the black eye and bruises. You'll need a potion for that. We can take you up to the school and see Snape or Pomfrey." She suggested knowing he would flat out refuse.

He scowled deeply.

"Well I heard Hermione say something about there being an apothecary shop in Hogsmeade, if you preferred. But she also said their potions were never as effective as Snape's were." She said hoping he would choose the school.

He stood and pulled his hood up hiding his face and headed towards the Village. "Of course, you'll do it the hard way. Why would I think otherwise?" She said under her breath. They entered the two-room shop and asked the small woman behind the counter for what they needed. Draco paid and before long they were back in the clearing near the shack. She rubbed the potion into the skin around his eye and was pleased to see the swelling go down almost immediately and she could see his icy-blue eye once again. Then she used the potion on his other bruises and watched them fade. But she wasn't happy to see that the bruises did not fade completely. Instead of being black and blue they held a yellowish tint that was easy to see against his pale skin.

"You look better, but they are not gone completely." She said biting her bottom lip in concentration. "Muggles use something that I heard about called make-up to cover blemishes…." She began to say but the scowl deepened.

"I will not." Was all he said.

"Well you'll just have to be satisfied to let them fade the rest of the way on their own then." She said a little bitterly. "Now do you have bruises anywhere else that need attending to?" She asked sure, that he was hiding more beneath his robes, considering the stiff way he had walked into the village.

"Nowhere that I'm going to show you." He answered indignantly.

"Draco, I didn't do this to you. My friends did not do this to you. Why are you taking it out on me?" She asked in a defeated voice. She had been so happy that they had been close to getting that old sibling affection back again, but the cold look in those eyes made her shiver.

But the look melted at her words. "I don't mean to. I don't want to hurt you again, Val. I'm just angry right now." He said looking down in shame.

"I know that. But don't push me away, not when we were so close to healing all the hurts between us." Val said leaning towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck stroking his hair wanting to stroke the pain away. He was sitting on the boulder again, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his head into her stomach accepting the comfort she offered as he had done long ago with her mother. At that moment he thought she was more like Helena than she had ever been before. He felt so guilty knowing what he knew about her mother's death, but still would not turn away her affection. He needed it and knew he would need it even more in the days to come, if he survived the days to come.


	11. The Gift of Flight

**Disclaimer: **You know the song and dance. Never mine.

**The Gift of Flight**

It was the morning of Val's first Quidditch match, and she and her friends were sitting in the Great Hall trying to eat a decent breakfast. Ron and Harry being used to Quidditch already, had no problem devouring a decent breakfast. Val on the other hand was so nervous that she barely touched a bite. She had flown in several practices since her accident, and had no problems since then, but she felt a dreading in the pit of her stomach.

"Come on, Val. You have to eat. You'll be fine. The game is against Hufflepuff. They are usually a pushover." Hermione said trying to convince Val that her first match wasn't the end of the world.

"I'm not worried about how good Hufflepuff is. I'm worried about how good I am." Val admitted, pushing her eggs around on the plate in front of her. They had gone cold at least a quarter of an hour before.

"Don't worry. You'll be great. You can out-fly most of the Hufflepuffs on a bad day, even with you using a practice broom." Ron said trying to cheer her up.

But that was the problem. Could she? The practice brooms were not meant to be used for tournament. It was a wonder that Madame Hooch had even consented to let her play. At that moment the morning owls began to swoop into the Great Hall delivering packages and letters to the students lucky enough to receive tidings from home. Val did not look up. She had no one to send her anything. But in surprise a large tawny colored owl landed right before her. She dropped her fork, immediately recognizing the animal. "Pem. What are you doing here?" She said reaching out and stoking the large bird. She could see the rather large package that the owl had been carrying. It had landed on top of her and Harry's plates and splashed pumpkin juice across the table into Ron's. The package was long and wider on one end and was wrapped in brown packing paper. "What is this?"

"I know what that is." Harry called out remembering a day many years before when he had received a similar package himself.

"Well open it." Ron said impatiently.

Val's fingers trembled slightly as she reached out and began pulling the paper back. "It's like yours, Harry." She whispered looking at the shiny new broom in awe. "It's a Firebolt." She looked to Harry for a minute, and could see the amazed look in his eyes.

"Who sent it to you?" Ron asked fishing in the wrapping for a card, but there was none.

Val stared at the large owl in front of her, and knew who had sent it without a doubt in her mind. She looked around the Great Hall, and saw who she was looking for not at the Slytherin table, but leaning against the door leading into the hallway. He had a small grin on his face, and she smiled back at him, and mouthed the words 'Thank you'. She watched as he shook his head with an amused expression and then turned to leave the Great Hall.

She wanted to follow him, but at the moment Harry and Ron stood. "It's time, Val." She took one last look to where he had been standing and then stood following the other Gryffindor team members.

Val's nerves were on end, but her confidence had shot up immensely as she held her new broom clutched tightly to her side. As they entered the stadium Val searched the stands for one single person, but was disappointed to see that Draco wasn't sitting in the Slytherin section. "I should know better." She whispered to herself. Draco never attended any of the events. The only time anyone had seen him on the Quidditch pitch was during the Slytherin games, but that was only because he was still the Slytherin's best choice for a Seeker.

* * *

The school rang with cheers that afternoon. "Gryffindor. Yeah, yeah, Gryffindor. Yeah Gryffindor." They had won the game two hundred thirty points to twenty after Harry caught the snitch within the first half hour of play. Val had scored five out of the eight Gryffindor goals.

But even as happy as Val was, and with all the celebrating in the common room, she still felt like something was wrong. As Ron was telling everyone for the fifth time how he had saved six goals, Val snuck out of the common room as quietly as possible. Just as she slipped past the portrait of The Fat Lady she heard Harry's voice behind her. "Sneaking off during the celebration." He had seen her stealing away and had followed her.

She turned to face him and gave him a large smile, but he could see that the smile did not reach her eyes. "What's wrong?"

Harry knew her too well she decided. "Draco wasn't at the match." She said.

"I noticed." He answered.

"Harry, he sent me the broom." She said not sure if he would understand.

Harry nodded though. "Yeah, makes sense if he went to the trouble of sending you such an expensive gift, that he would at least want to see you use it."

Her eyes widened. He understood exactly what was going through her mind. "I'm worried about him, Harry. You saw him in Hogsmeade. He never would tell me who beat him up."

"Draco has always been one to keep things to himself, Val." Harry tried to reason.

"Not with me, Harry. I know more about Draco than our father does. I know more than Draco does himself, sometimes." Val said turning her head towards the nearby stairs. Harry could tell she was aching to go find him.

"Let me get something. It will help you." Harry said turning back into the common room. He made his way up to his dorm as quietly as possible, so as not to draw attention to himself. He pulled his trunk open and removed two items tucking them into his robe, and then went back down to the hall outside the common room.

Val was waiting for him but she had moved closer to the stairs, as if she was tempted to leave anyway.

Harry looked around making sure that no one else was around. He pulled the items out of his robe. First he handed her a beautiful silvery cloak. "Thanks, Harry. But it's not really that cool out tonight." She said skeptically.

"This is my invisibility cloak, silly." He said taking it and wrapping it around her shoulders. From her shoulders down she disappeared.

"Oh. I guess I forgot that one." She said looking down in shock.

"Yeah well, you probably don't know about this one." He said pulling a folded piece of parchment from his robe. He unfolded it before her, and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Val watched in amazement as a map of Hogwarts appeared before her, along with beautiful scrolling writing. "The Marauders' Map." She whispered as she read the writing. Then she noticed the moving names and footsteps on the map. "Harry, where did you get such an amazing map?" She said in awe.

"Ron's brothers, but it's been circling around Hogwarts for many years now. My dad and his friends created it, though." He smiled knowing he could trust Val with that bit of information.

"It's wonderful." She said staring at the moving names on the parchment.

"Let's see now. There he is." Harry said pointing to the owlry. There inside the owlry was the name Draco Malfoy, and he wasn't moving. "Go on now. Take the cloak. Don't get caught." Harry said as Val wrapped her arms around him in a large hug.

"Thanks, Harry. I owe you one." She said squeezing one more time and then pulled the hood up and took off down the stairs as quietly as she could.

Val made her way outside as quietly as possible, but as she hit the grounds and saw that no one was around to see her, she took off at a run towards the owlry as fast as she could. She took the stairs to the top of the owlry two at a time.

When she reached the top and stood at the door, she could see Draco. He was sitting on the floor in the corner looking out a low window. She could see Pem standing on the windowsill. Draco was softly stroking the owl's feathers, and she could see that the bird enjoyed it immensely. It was very late and the room was dark other than the moonlight pouring through the window. She walked quietly through the room until she was next to the wall staring down at Draco. She swallowed hard seeing new bruises, and a long gash in his forehead. Blood had stained his blond hair so it looked pink in the moonlight.

"Oh, Draco." She said in a heartbroken voice. He immediately pulled back, looking all around for where the voice had come from. Val could see the look of fear in his eyes. She had forgotten to remove the invisibility cloak.

She immediately pulled the cloak off, and kneeled in front of him. "It's just me." She said quietly.

Draco looked at the cloak in her hands. "Potter's cloak."

"He let me borrow it, so I could come find you." She said putting it in the inner pocket of her robe. "I'm glad I did."

"Sorry I missed the match today." He said looking back out the window.

"I don't care about a Quidditch match, Draco. Look at you. Who did this to you?" She pleaded for him to tell her.

"I .. fell down the steps. I've been up here since. Don't worry. The bleeding has stopped." He said willing her to believe him.

"Two accidents in less than a week. No, Draco. I don't believe that." Val said angrily. "Either you tell me what is going on here, or I will go to Professor Snape or Dumbledore." She threatened.

"You wouldn't." He turned back to her. "You've never ratted me out before."

"You've never kept secrets from me, or lied to me before." She countered.

"Val, this time you just can't be involved." He said in a resigned tone.

"I am involved. It tears me to pieces to see you like this, Draco. Either tell me, or I go to the adults." She said standing.

"No, don't. That will just make it worse." He said grabbing her hand, and pulling her back down.

"So tell me." She said not releasing his hand.

"Malfoy is not the best name to possess at Hogwarts right now. The other Slytherin's think our family had something to do with the raid." He told her a half-truth, hoping she would accept it.

"But my name is Malfoy too. Why haven't they gone after me?" She asked.

"I don't know. Maybe they are afraid to because Potter and his friends always surround you. Maybe they don't see you as a Malfoy, since you're a Gryffindor. I just don't know." He answered.

"What are we going to do?" She asked with a look of determination on her face.

"Nothing." He answered her. "There's nothing to do. I am a Slytherin. I am around them all the time. There's nothing to do, except for stay out of their way as much as possible."

"That's not much of a solution, Draco." She said thoughtfully. "If you told Snape, he would threaten them and they would have to stop."

"I know Slytherins. They would never stop. They'd just make sure I didn't come out of it in one piece if I ratted on them." He said bitterly. "No, if I want to stay alive, I have to just accept it, and try to stay away from them."

"Well you say that I am protected because I am around Harry. What if you started hanging…?" She began to speak, but he interrupted her.

"Ask Harry Potter to protect me. Did you get hit in the head by a bludger during that match today?" He said scowling.

"It was just an idea." She said defensively. "There's safety in numbers you know."

"No. I don't want to talk about this anymore. How did the Quidditch game go today?" He said changing the subject.

Val shook her head in frustration. "We won, but that is not important. I don't give a damn about the game."

"How did the new broom fly?" He asked as if he hadn't heard the statement.

"You are so exasperating, Draco." She said kicking him lightly on his shin.

"Ouch. That hurt." He said grabbing his leg.

"I'm sorry. I kicked a bruise didn't I?" She said as the look on her face turned to worry.

He broke into a large smile. "Gotcha." He said then started laughing loudly, holding his stomach.

"Oh, you little git." She said shoving him backwards. He tipped over landing on his back but was still laughing so hard that he barely noticed.

"You are the worst, Draco Malfoy." She said standing to go.

"Wait, no. Don't leave yet." He said sitting up and wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes. "We never get to talk anymore."

She paused, thinking it would serve him right if she just walked out, but he was right. They never got to talk anymore. So instead she sat next to him so she could see the view from the window. "Tell me about the game." He said when she was seated.

"We won, two thirty to twenty." She answered.

"How many goals did you score?" He asked her.

"Five." She answered blushing slightly. "Thanks for the broom" She whispered.

"Well I couldn't see losing you to another Quidditch accident." He said wrapping one arm around her and giving her a squeeze.

"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." She answered him laying her head on his shoulder looking out the window, just as she had done many times when they were younger. "Tell me about the stars, Draco." She whispered. It was a game they used to play. He would pick out a constellation, and tell her something about it. Sometimes it was the truth, but more than often it was just something fanciful he had made up to entertain her.

He looked down at her and smiled. "Well you see that constellation over there. The one that sort of looks like a dragon." He said pointing to a set of stars. "That's Draco. It is said that when a dragon dies his soul is lifted from the earth and rests in the heavens as another star among that constellation. And when the last dragon upon the world dies he will complete the constellation, and it will shine brighter than any in all of the heavens. And then there will be only peace left in this world."

"That's my favorite." She said smiling brightly. "I don't wish to see the dragons leave this earth, but I certainly wish we could have peace, for just a little while at least." She said as her voice turned a little sad.

"I'm not sure if that will ever happen. But at least we have each other. You know I will always strive to protect you, don't you?" He said hating to see the sad look in her eyes.

"Yes, Draco. I know. And if you ever need me.." She began to say, but he again cut her off.

"You will always be there." He said smiling.

* * *

_Author's Note: Yes, I know, Draco is very out of character here, but he has been going through a lot of toughcrap this year, and he is realizing what is most important in his life._


	12. Unappreciated Help

**Disclaimer: **Not Mine.

_Author's Note: Ha, ha. Two chapters for you guys tonight. Maybe more. We'll see. Eventually I'm gonna catch up to my beta, and then I'll have to swing this on my own. But for now, you guys get the fully edited version. Thanks for the encouraging words. I'm glad you guys are liking it._

**Unappreciated Help**

Things seemed almost peaceful for a week as far as Draco could see. No one attempted to beat him up, and the insults and dark looks began to let up. He began to think that maybe the Slytherins had grown tired of the sport.

During his evening meal in the Slytherin common room Draco was surprised to see Pem come flying through the open window. He had a small piece of parchment attached to his leg. Draco opened the note and smiled as he read.

_We have far too little time together. Meet me at the Room of Requirement 10:00pm. Ask for what you did last year. I'll be waiting._

_Val_

Draco had hoped to be able to spend some more time with Val, but was curious why she would choose the Room of Requirement. And how did she know what he had asked to get into the room? "Potter must have told her about it. I wonder what other things Potter has told her?"

But all the same, he would meet her anyway. At the appointed time Draco snuck out of the common room and made his way to the seventh floor corridor outside of the room he sought. He thought to himself that he needed a place to hide something as he paced in front of the empty space in the wall. The door appeared immediately and he showed himself into the room. He did not necessarily enjoy being in the room again. It signified his worst mistake during his time at Hogwarts. But all the same if Val wanted to meet there he would do so. "Val." He called out to the large room. He wondered where she was, though, when there was no answer. The room was huge and crammed with things that people had wanted to hide. He walked over to some of the items and started looking through them.

When he heard the door open he didn't immediately look around. "You ought to see some of the things that people want to hide in here." He called out.

"We've seen." A mocking tone said behind him. Draco closed his eyes shaking his head for a moment and then turned slowly. He could see eight Slytherin boys standing just inside the doorway. They all had their wands drawn and ready. "Well boys, what brings you here?" He said sarcastically.

"I think you know, Malfoy." The largest out of them all said.

"Don't you think twice is enough?" He asked in a bored tone.

"Well you know what they say. The third time's a charm." The larger boy said again smiling a wicked smile.

Draco immediately pulled his wand and then sent a charm flying at the largest boy. "Petrificus." The boy dodged the charm, but another behind him was struck and fell to the floor, like a large statue petrified. He then dodged behind a stack of books as the others launched their own spells at him.

Draco spent the better part of fifteen minutes dodging in and out of the stacks of hidden items, and firing curses and counter curses at his attackers. He was peeking around a large shelf trying to get a good idea of where the others were when the shelf went crashing to the ground. He ducked but it was too late as the larger boy shouted. "Stupefy." Draco felt the curse hit him, and was on the floor stunned, while his own wand rolled a few feet away.

He was so close. He had cursed five out of the eight boys, and was sure he could have handled the rest if that shelf hadn't fallen, giving his position away. The three remaining tormentors pulled him to an open place in the room, and as the stunning charm wore off he heard them talking about him.

"He deserves far worse than what we've given him up until now." The largest boy said with an evil gleam in his eye.

"If we do the Cruciatus curse on him, we'll end up caught. You know that. And I don't particularly want to end up in Azkaban with my dad." One of the other boys argued.

"Well then this time, we'll just have to make sure he won't forget whose lives he's been playing with. And we'll do it the muggle way." The larger boy said placing his wand in his robe.

Draco tried to move, knowing he was in for the worst beating of his life. But at that moment they noticed him moving. The two smaller boys picked him up by the arms and held him still.

"Three on one, huh. I guess I can't blame you for playing the odds." Draco said sarcastically.

"You don't deserve fair odds, traitor." The largest boy said drawing a fist back and striking Draco in the gut.

When he got his breath back he choked out. "I told you. I wasn't the one who ratted your folks out."

"Who else could it have been?" The boy smirked and them stuck him in the ribs. Draco heard the loud crack and knew a rib was broken as the pain coursed through his body.

"I don't know." He whispered, closing his eyes as a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Wrong answer." The boy said motioning to the ground. The other two dropped him and started kicking his ribs on either side.

Draco had known pain in his life, but had never seen anyone so intent on being malicious. He knew deep down, that they might actually kill him this time. He could feel it as even more of the ribs began to crack, and he tasted the unmistakable taste of blood in his mouth.

"Petrificus." Someone yelled from behind the Slytherins and one of the boys froze in his spot, in mid kick. His frozen body fell backwards.

The other two flew around, drawing their wands again. "Expelliarmus." Was the next charm, and then "Levicorpus."

Harry stood back seeing one of the boys hanging in mid-air and the larger boy standing wandless staring at him in disgust. "What are you meddling in this for, Potter. It's none of your concern."

"I may not like Malfoy. But three on one, and by the looks of the others laying around it started as quite a few more, is just despicable." Harry said pointing his wand at the bully. "Now do you want to join them?"

The boy shot Harry a dark look and then walked around him and out the door. Harry let the other boy down that was hanging in mid-air and he too took off out the door. Harry walked over to Malfoy, who was still lying on the floor on his stomach. "Come on, Malfoy. They're gone now." He pulled Draco over on his back and saw the look of agony cross his face.

"Leave me alone, Potter." He gasped between oxygen-starved breaths.

Harry could see the blood running out of the corner of his mouth, and hear the gasping. "Sorry, Malfoy. Val would never forgive me if I left you like this."

"I promise I won't tell her." He said then was wracked by a coughing fit, which doubled him up in pain.

"I guess you can't tell her if you're dead, now can you?" Harry said shaking his head. "Sorry, no. My conscience couldn't take it." He stood and placed a levitation charm on Draco and watched as his body floated into the air.

"Damn you, Potter. Don't drop me." Draco gasped.

Harry thought about dropping him, just for being so ungrateful, but instead levitated him out the door and down to the Hospital Wing. Madame Pomfrey was in quite a distressed state when she saw Draco after Harry placed him in one of the beds. Harry slunk back to the corner, hoping she would forget he was there. "I don't know why you students insist upon trying to kill each other. It is beyond me." She said moving around and checking broken bones. But she had not forgotten that Harry was there. "How did this happen, Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked to Draco and could see the panicked look on his face. "I'm not sure, Mam. I found him like that." He lied not mentioning the Room of Requirement or the Slytherin boys who were still there petrified. He knew it would be several hours before the Petrificus Totalus curse wore off on them.

"Mr. Malfoy?" She asked. She remembered the row they had had the year before and how Draco had ended up in the Hospital Wing, injured seriously. "Were you two dueling again?"

Draco knew he could pin it on Harry. It would be easy to do, and for a moment he considered it, but Harry had been the one to stop the beating. "No, he wasn't there."

"Then who did this?" She asked.

"Just some boys. I'm not sure of their names." Draco answered. Harry's eyebrows shot up in a quizzical look. Draco was covering for them.

"Well you will still need to talk to the Headmaster and your Head of House." She said giving him a potion for the pain. "Mr. Potter. You need to get back to your dorm room. Dumbledore will want to know why you were out after hours, too."

"Yes, Mam" Harry said walking out the door. But a few moments later after Madam Pomfrey had bound Draco's ribs and mended any internal injuries, the lights went out and Harry snuck back into the Hospital Wing.

"Mufliato." He whispered pointing his wand to her office.

Draco was lying on his bed staring at Harry, with a distinctly uncomfortable look on his face.

"Why did you help me?" He asked when Harry didn't speak immediately.

"I wasn't lying to those Slytherins when I said the odds didn't suit me." Harry answered. "They looked pretty vicious to me. It looked to me like they were actually trying to kill you."

"They might have been." Draco answered cryptically. His eyes avoided Harry's.

"You're the one who turned their parents in, weren't you?" Harry guessed what was behind the beatings.

Draco glared at him, not answering.

"You know. I was wondering about that when we saw the paper. I knew it had to be a student here. But I never figured you to pass information to the Order." Harry said staring at Draco, thinking the situation through. "Unless something was in it for you."

"There's nothing that I could want." Draco said bitterly.

"You know, Val told me that Snape has been half way decent towards her since she burned him with that potion. I figured it was just Snape worried about what Dumbledore would say about his outburst. But Snape doesn't strike me as the type to worry too much about what others think. But maybe if he had information to pass to the Order, he might consider changing his attitude towards a certain student. But Val wouldn't have any information to give him" Harry suggested in an offhanded manner.

Draco scowled deeply. Why was it that Potter could seem to read what was in his mind? They were nothing alike. The only thing they had in common was Val. But as he thought on the subject he realized that as far as Val was concerned they were very like-minded. "You mention a word of your theory to her, and I'll hex you into next week, Potter." He threatened.

"She'd appreciate the fact that you are willing to take beatings for her." Harry said knowing he had guessed correctly.

"I've been doing that for a long time now." Draco said quietly remembering all of the times he had stopped his parents from mistreating her. He'd received a few decent beatings when he defied them the hardest to keep her safe. "But that doesn't matter now. If she knew what was happening she would just feel guilty. She's finally happy. Let her stay that way."

"You don't think she has a right to know what's going on? I've heard too many adults say they were only keeping information from me for my own good. It didn't make it right." Harry countered.

"You heard me, Potter. She doesn't need to know about this. It's my secret. You have no right to tell her." Draco said angrily.

Harry thought for a moment. "And you are just going to let them get away with it."

"I have to. If I rat them out the next time they will kill me." Draco said defensively.

"It looks to me like they were going to do that anyway." Harry said, wondering why he even cared.

"No, they were just teaching me a lesson. It got out of hand, though." Draco said letting the old sarcasm enter his voice again. "Why don't you just drop it? Your life would be a lot easier if I died anyway."

"One of these days, you're going to need someone's help, Malfoy. I sure hope there's someone there to give it to you." Harry said bitterly, vowing not to give a damn who used him as a punching bag anymore.

With those words he left the hospital wing, and headed back to Gryffindor common room. As he entered through the Fat Lady's portrait he remembered why he had been in the Room of Requirement to begin with. He had wanted to search for the Half Blood Prince's potions book. But it was too risky to try again that night.

He knew he wouldn't tell Val why Draco had been beaten. He had no doubt in his mind that information of the attack would be all over the school the next day, but he would not tell Val what the reason was behind it. He had to respect the fact that it was Draco's secret to keep, and in doing so he was only hurting himself.


	13. Accusations

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. You'd think they'd let me have one of them, but no.

_Author's Note: Well this is the last one for tonight. This chapter is gonna be a difficult one for our siblings. And I'm afraid it only goes downhill from here._

**Accusations**

"I know there is no way you did it." Val said sitting next to Harry at the Gryffindor table in the great hall, ignoring her plate and turning towards him.

"Did what, Val?" Harry asked knowing exactly what she was speaking of.

She gave him a look that was too similar to the scowls he received from Draco. "It's all over the school, Harry. Harry Potter attacked Draco Malfoy last night. I tried to go see him in the Hospital Wing, but Madame Pomfrey said he was speaking to Dumbledore and Snape. Why didn't you come and talk to me? What happened?"

Ron and Hermione were sitting in silence across from her. Harry had refused to tell them exactly what happened the night before also. "Listen, I found Draco in the Room of Requirement. He had been beaten. I took him to the Hospital Wing. End of story. If you want to know anything else, you'll have to ask him."

"Harry, you don't lie too convincingly. I know you know more. You two weren't dueling again, were you?" She asked wondering if they had been fighting over her.

"Listen. You of all people should know that after the last time we did that, I don't want to repeat it again. I promised you I would not hurt your brother. And he promised you that he would not interfere in our friendship. So get it out of that pretty little head of yours that we were at it again. Now, as I said, if you want anymore information go talk to Draco." Harry stood angrily and stalked out of the Great Hall. He was beginning to wonder what it was about the Malfoy's that could exasperate him more than any other family in the Wizarding world.

Val looked to Ron and Hermione with a look of surprise on her face as if to say, 'What did I do?'

"Don't ask us. He told you more than he did us." Ron said shrugging.

"I do think I'll go wait to see Draco. If you see Harry, tell him I'm sorry I pushed it." She said sighing heavily. She hadn't meant to sound accusing. She was just so worried about Draco, and all the rumors floating around the school made it seem so much worse.

As she approached the corridor outside the Hospital Wing, Dumbledore and Professor Snape exited in deep conversation.

"You know who did this." Professor Snape said bitterly.

"Yes, Severus, I do. But unless he turns them in, we can do nothing." Professor Dumbledore said sighing.

"He won't do that. He has had loyalty driven into him since he was a toddler." At that moment Snape saw Val standing in their way.

"Headmaster, Professor Snape." She greeted them. "May I see my brother?"

Professor Snape scowled slightly, but didn't say anything. Professor Dumbledore smiled kindly at her though. "Of course, you can. Maybe you can convince him to tell us who did this to him."

"Um, there's something I should probably tell you." Val said deciding. "This isn't the first time someone's attacked him." She looked down wishing she had told them after the first time she'd seen the bruises.

"I know that. It was obvious that something was happening." Snape said his scowl deepening. "I'm just surprised you didn't try to help him." He said rather cruelly.

"I helped him as much as he would let me, Professor." She said the shame burning her face.

"Val, did he tell you who has been beating him?" Dumbledore asked still in that kindly voice.

"He wouldn't say names sir. I just know they are from Slytherin." Val answered. "I begged him to tell one of you, but he said it would only get worse. But it looks like it got worse anyway."

"Well, Ms. Malfoy, I'm afraid the only way we may take action, is if Draco admits who is to blame. If there is any way at all you can convince him, I'd appreciate it." Dumbledore said then walked away.

Snape did not leave so quickly. He could see that the girl was almost in tears. "Look at me, Ms. Malfoy."

She immediately looked directly at him. He studied her face for a moment. He could see why Draco felt such an overwhelming need to protect the girl. She was the exact image of her dead mother. Her hair was a slightly darker shade, but she was her mother all over again. He remembered looking into identical emerald eyes, brimming with tears, and wanting more than anything to protect her. "Dumbledore, may not be able to do anything about this, but I promise you, I will do something." With those words he walked past her with a determined step.

Valissa felt a chill enter her bones. The cold hatred she heard in Snape's words frightened her. She would not want to be a member of the Slytherin house at that moment.

After wiping her eyes, trying to look like she hadn't nearly been crying, Val walked into the Hospital wing. Draco was in a bed at the end of the room, and she could see that he was staring out the window. She made her way quietly to his bed. She sat on the end staring at him. "Well, looks like our places have exchanged."

He looked sharply to her, and gave a half smile, but did not say anything.

"Draco, why won't you tell them what happened? I know you can't still want to be loyal to the people who did this to you." Val said in a pleading voice.

"I can't, Val." He answered softly. He hadn't admitted it to Harry the night before, but his biggest fear was that they would decide to take it out on her if he ever did tell on them. They knew she was his one weakness, and they also knew that as long as Val stayed at Hogwarts he would never rat them out.

"I can't watch over and over again as you turn up beaten and bloodied, Draco. I just can't do it." She said as the tears started slipping down her face.

"I'm sorry, Val. It's better this way." Draco said looking back out the window.

"Better than what? Better than living without pain and fear." She said standing as her desperation turned to anger.

Draco turned to look at her. "Don't do that, Val. This is my business. I will handle it." He said seeing she was not giving up.

"You keep saying that, but I don't see you handling anything. What, do you want them to beat you? Do you enjoy the pain? Do you want to die?" She wasn't sure what brought on the angry accusations, but she knew that she had to do something to shake him.

"Of course I don't." He said beginning to become angry himself.

"Well then, be a man about this and do the right thing." She yelled.

Madame Pomfrey came out of her office at the shouts. "Ms. Malfoy, if this is the way you are going to speak, you need to leave now."

Valissa stared at Draco for a moment and then turned leaving the room.

After she left, Draco sighed heavily. "I am being a man about this."

* * *

Three days later was the Slytherin and Gryffindor Quidditch match, and Val was not looking forward to the game at all. She had not talked to Draco since the Hospital Wing. She hoped he would not participate in the match, but as stubborn as he was she was not surprised to see him walking onto the pitch with the rest of the Slytherin team. The rest of the team kept away from him. None of them had been involved in his attacks, but they still did not want to get involved with the feud within their own house.

The match was a long and tiring one. Val concentrated on her job as chaser and tried to ignore what Draco was doing. Even though the few times she would catch a glimpse of him he seemed to be giving Harry a hard match as they sped over and around the pitch, trying to catch the elusive snitch. It was fast becoming apparent that the Slytherin team was highly outmatched. The Gryffindor goals piled one on top of the other, until they were 140 points ahead.

Draco and Harry were battling fiercely over the snitch every time it would near the field. And yet again they were neck and neck spinning into the air and then diving to the earth again. In times past Draco had pulled up as they did so, while Harry continued to plunge down until he caught the snitch, but Draco was having nothing of that. He dove right next to Harry and refused to pull up as they neared the ground. Just as they were within inches of the snitch a bludger shot strait through the center of them forcing Harry to veer wide left, but Draco did not veer. He was hit hard on the shoulder toppling off his broom, which luckily was only a few feet from the ground. He hit the earth hard, and lie still not moving. Harry jumped from his broom, and strode to where he was lying. Draco rolled over holding his hand above him. Harry saw with surprise that the hand held the Snitch.

"Draco Malfoy has caught the snitch folks." Dean Thomas called from were he was commentating. "And with the last goal that was scored by Valissa Malfoy, that leaves the two teams with a tie. I can't believe it."

The smile on Draco's mouth faded. He hadn't heard when Val had scored. It couldn't end like that. The first time he had managed to beat Harry Potter at anything, and the game was a tie. Harry saw the dark look on Draco's face and decided it was best to join his own team. He walked a few feet away where his team was grouping. Val had just jumped from her broom. "Sorry I couldn't get one more goal in, Harry."

Meanwhile the Slytherin team captain had walked over to stand above where Draco was still lying on the ground. "Get up, Malfoy."

Draco wasn't sure if he could. His shoulder was throbbing from the pain, and he hated to admit it but he was still feeling weak from the beating he had taken. But instead of refusing he stiffly pushed himself up on one elbow and then managed to stand.

"Three seconds earlier, and it would have been ours." The captain said in anger.

Draco was fed up with being blamed for everything wrong in Slytherin. "If you chasers had scored a few more goals, that would not have been a problem, now would it?" He shot back.

The captain got a mean look on his face. "We did our job. You failed yours. Your off the team, Malfoy." He said spinning and walking away.

"Well, what do you know? That's a big surprise." Draco said tossing the snitch high into the air, not caring if it got away. 'Let someone else chase it for a while.' He thought bitterly to himself.

Val and the other Gryffindors had heard the conversation, and she started over to Draco, with the others behind her. "Draco, it wasn't your fault. You did your job." She started, but when he turned to look at her she shut up. He had a look of pure hate on his face.

"Oh, shut up. I'm tired of all your pep talks, and worrying. Just leave me alone." He said angrily.

"Hey, she's only trying to help, you git." Ron piped up walking a few steps forward.

"It's none of your business, Weaslebee." Draco scowled.

"You know, I don't know why she even tries to be nice to you. You wouldn't even be nice to your own mother, if she were here." Ron piped up.

Draco's hands began to tremble in pure rage.

"Ron, stop it." Harry said knowing that the words were crueler than Ron ever intended.

Draco wanted to hurt him. He wanted to pound him into the dirt. But instead he resorted to the tried and true humiliation tactics from when they were younger. "So tell me Weaslebee, how is your mother doing now a days? She popped out any more ugly brats like you recently? How many does she have now? A dozen. You know her and your father really should figure out what is causing that and put a stop to it. Save us all from having to deal with idiots like you."

Ron had had enough. He had listened to insults against his family for years. "Well at least my dad stuck to one woman. How many bastard kids does your dad have now, besides you that is?"

Val spun looking at Ron like he had grown an extra head. Draco heard the words and it took a moment for him to realize what Ron was saying. Then he turned to Val with an accusing look. "And just where did he get that information, Sis?"

Val looked to him with an incredible look on her face. "I swear, Draco, I never told anyone."

"Save it. How many of my secrets have you told them? I thought I could trust you." He said bitterly and then turned to walk away.

"Draco, I didn't.." She started but he just kept walking.

"Save it." He yelled back seething with anger.


	14. Sweet Revenge

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**Sweet Revenge**

No matter how many times Val tried to talk to Draco in the next month, he avoided her. The Quidditch season was over. Gryffindor had won the season, which brought little happiness to Val. She had been furious with Ron for blurting out what he had. She knew Draco had no right to badmouth Ron's parents. For that she had been truly ashamed, but his comeback had driven a wedge in between her and Draco, that she was not sure she could ever remove.

It was the day before Christmas break, and the four friends were sitting in the Gryffindor common room talking over what their plans were for the holidays. Ron and Hermione were going home, seeing as both of their families were planning spectacular Christmas celebrations. Harry had originally planned on going with Ron, but the idea of leaving Val alone during Christmas, after all that had happened, didn't sit well with him. She was already thoroughly depressed, and spending the holidays alone would do her no good. So he had decided to stay at Hogwarts instead. He of course did not tell Val that that was the reason. He made up a story about wanting to spend his last Christmas at Hogwarts because he would miss it after he had graduated. Val didn't seem to care what his reasons were. Honestly he wondered if she even realized what he had said.

At that moment they were interrupted by a fifth year. "Harry, Dumbledore wants to see you in his office." Ron and Hermione gave him strange looks, wondering what Harry was in for next.

"I'll see you guys in a bit." Harry said standing.

He made his way through the bustling hallways until he stood outside of Dumbledore's office staring at the two gargoyles. Dumbledore had given him the password at the beginning of term and Harry hoped that it had not changed. "Fizzing Whizbees." He called out and the two gargoyles jumped back revealing the staircase to his office. Harry wondered what Dumbledore would say. They hadn't discussed the Horcrux all year, even though Harry was positive that Dumbledore was still searching for them. The Headmaster had disappeared from the school several times that year.

He knocked when he reached the office. "Come in, Harry." Dumbledore called out. He walked in smiling.

"How did you know it was me?" Harry asked.

"Just a guess." The old man said with a twinkling in his eye. "Sit down. I have news."

Harry was surprised. Any other time and Dumbledore would have offered him a refreshment, just to show politeness, but Harry could see the absolute look of mischief in the older man's eyes. "What is it, Professor?"

"R.A.B" Dumbledore said brightly.

Harry remembered the initials that were on the note in the fake Horcrux. "Do you know who it is?"

"I have a theory. But there are members of the Order who don't agree with me." Dumbledore answered.

"I trust your judgment. Who?" Harry asked.

"Regulus Anton Black." Dumbledore said noticing the reaction on Harry's face.

"Sirius' brother. But he was a Death Eater." Harry said shaking his head in denial.

"Yes he was, Harry. But he was also killed by Voldemort, and I think he was killed because of this Horcrux. Somehow Voldemort learned that Regulus had it, and he killed him for it." Dumbledore explained his theory.

Harry wasn't sure that he could believe such a thing. Sirius had mentioned his brother, but had never mentioned the possibility that Regulus could have turned against his master. "But if Regulus had denounced Voldemort, wouldn't someone from the Order know?"

"Not necessarily. But there may be a way to find out. It is believed that Regulus spent his last few years alive in the Black Family Manor. There might be clues." Dumbledore suggested.

"Well then the Order should search the house by all means." Harry said wondering if Dumbledore was asking for permission to rifle through the house that he had inherited.

"At this moment Remus is doing just that, but there are powerful charms still present in the house, that even I can not break." The wise old Wizard said smiling at Harry.

Harry's eyes narrowed sensing that Dumbledore had something in mind for him.

"Yes, Harry. I am asking for your help. Being the rightful owner of Black Manor makes you the only person who should be able to learn all of its secrets." Dumbledore said giving Harry a bright smile.

"You want me to go back there." Harry said and a deep frown creased his face. But he knew it was important or Dumbledore would never ask him. "When?" He said in a defeated tone.

"Good, man. Tomorrow. You have over a fortnight to see what you can discover before you return to the school." Dumbledore smiled brightly knowing Harry would not refuse.

"But, I was going to stay here for the Holidays." Harry said remembering the way Val looked before he had left the common room. He definitely felt that she should not be alone for the Holiday.

"I'm sorry, Harry. But this is too important to wait." Dumbledore gave him a consolatory glance.

"Alright." Harry answered. In his mind he vowed to discover what ever he needed to at Black Manor as quickly as possible and then return to Hogwarts immediately.

* * *

When Harry told his friends that he would be unable to stay at Hogwarts for the Holidays, Val didn't even look up at him. She was lost in thought. Hermione on the other hand looked to Val with a worried look. Harry did not mention where he was going. They had yet to tell Val of Harry's connection to Sirius Black or the Order of the Pheonix. 

"I'm going for a walk." Val said standing. She hadn't really listened to their conversation at all. She started out of the common room, but Harry stopped her grabbing her hand.

"Val, are you okay?" The worried look on his face finally broke into her otherwise occupied mind.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I haven't been very good company lately. I just have so much on my mind. I'm fine though. Don't worry about me." She said giving him a dazzling smile that he noticed did not reach her eyes.

"Okay, but don't stay out too late. It's almost dark." He said giving her hand a squeeze.

She turned then and walked through the portrait hole in the wall. After she left Harry explained what Dumbledore wanted him to do.

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, why?" He asked confused.

"Harry, we remember last summer rather well." Ron answered.

"Oh, that. Listen guys, it is very hard for me to be there, but I have a task to complete. It should keep my mind off of him." Harry said giving them a smile that looked no different than the one Val had just given him a few moments before.

At that moment Dean Thomas shot into the common room with a hurried look about him. He was out of breath. "You guys better come. Val and Draco. They are down a few flights and having a hell of a row."

The three friends ran to the portrait hole and down the stairs that were crowded with people listening to the argument. They could hear them a flight above where they stood.

"Get off it, Draco. What difference does it make? Either you're a bastard or I am. It doesn't matter one way or the other? Neither one of us asked to be born into such a twisted family." Val said through gritted teeth.

The scowl on Draco's face looked bitterer than she could ever imagine. "Yeah well, maybe you don't care to be a Malfoy, but I do." He answered but his face twisted into an evil smile.

Harry, Ron and Hermione finally broke through the crowd to stand behind Val. "Ah, Potter, just the person I was waiting for." Draco said in false welcome.

"What are you at now, Malfoy?" Harry asked seeing the wicked gleam in his eyes.

"Just giving my dear sister an early Christmas gift. One you might be interested in seeing." Draco smiled yet again enjoying himself.

"What are you talking about?" Val asked in frustration.

He smiled yet again. "Well it seems I came across something that belonged to your dear mother, Val. A private journal." Draco said pulling the journal from beneath his robe.

"Give me that." Val said her face going very pale. "Where did you get that?"

"A friend of the family mailed it to me. I've been doing some interesting reading of late." Draco smiled holding the book up and flipping it to a certain page. "I read this passage last night. It was very enlightening."

Val immediately grabbed the journal from his hands before he could start reading. She scanned the page not really reading the words but looking at the handwriting. She had been so young when her mother died that she hadn't been writing yet herself, but after her mother's death she had gathered everything she could find with her mother's writing on it so she could save it for later. She had memorized her mother's sweeping strokes and recognized it immediately.

"It's hers. I'm not lying. Would you like me to read that passage? It's particularly informative." Draco said smiling. "I even memorized it."

Val scowled at him and then began reading aloud, knowing he would if she did not.

_Dear Journal,_

_This is my final entry. I know that by morning I will be no more. _

Val's voice faltered at the words, but then she continued.

_My only true hope is that someday this journal falls into the hands of my dear sweet Val. There are so many things in here that she needs to know. She needs to know of how I died. She needs to know of the evil that is Lucius and Narcissa. But most of all she needs to know the truth about herself. She is so young now. The information would devastate her, but in time she must know the truth. She must know that Lucius Malfoy is not her father. _

Val froze after reading the words. Could it be true? She quickly continued, not caring who heard her at that point.

_After I discovered his infidelity with Narcissa, I was so angry. I did something rather foolish, though I will never regret it. I found myself with the true love of my life again. The small time we spent together was bliss, but I knew it could not be anything more than a short affair. He has his loyalties to what is right in our world. And there is no room for love. With this in mind I hope that by the time my darling reads this that the world is a better place, and she may truly be able to become acquainted with her father. _

At those words Val stopped reading. She was staring at the name that followed the last words she had spoken. It was a name she knew. But it was the last one she had ever expected to see. She looked up to Draco. The look of utter confusion on her face was all it took for him to start laughing.

"Well, my dear. Cat got your tongue. Can't say the name. Well it looks like you got exactly what you wanted. You're not a Malfoy. But tell me, how does it feel to be the daughter of Sirius Black?" Draco said smiling as sweetly as possible.

There was a combined gasp among the crowd. Harry looked at Val and could tell that what he said was true. She stood there looking at Draco, but instead of hate on her face, he could see a deeper pain than he had ever imagined possible.

Draco's sarcastic smile faltered slightly. "Well aren't you going to say anything?" He asked in a slightly nervous tone.

"No. I'm not." Val whispered and then closed the book in her hands and holding it close to her chest. She gave him one more painful look and then turned pushing her way through the crowd and up to the common room. Harry watched her go, but did not know what to say.

He turned back to Draco, who was watching where Val had disappeared. "Was it worth it? Do you feel better?" He growled.

Draco turned to him and the sarcastic smile landed on his face again. "Why yes, I do. How do you feel about this? Did you ever really decide whether or not Black betrayed your parents? To bad your new girlfriend happens to be his kid."

"I'm going to say this once and only once, Malfoy. Sirius Black did not betray my parents. I am as certain of that, as I am of my own name. So what you just revealed doesn't bother me a bit. As a matter of fact, knowing that Val is not a Malfoy, is a plus in my eyes." Harry said moving closer to him until he was within a foot of Draco's face. He stared hard at Draco with a look of utter hate on his face. They stayed that way for a moment and then Harry turned to go back up the stairs. The other students parted to let him through as they saw the murderous look on his face.

Hermione and Ron made to follow Harry but Ron could not resist the chance. "Oh and by the way, Malfoy. Val never said a word about your secret. We learned it from Luna Lovegood. Her father did a story on it several years ago for the _Quibbler_."

At those words Draco's smirk faltered. He watched the three friends head back to the common room and soon found himself surrounded by many students gawking and whispering all around him. "What are you staring at?" He growled at the younger students staring at him. They all left him standing there on the landing alone. For some reason he thought broadcasting Val's parentage in front of the entire school would feel much more satisfying than it had. But instead he just felt exactly what he was, very alone.

_Author's Note: Okay anybody see that little revelation coming? Yes my dear Draco got to go back to being his typical self for a chapter or so. But will he stay that way?_


	15. Holidays

**Disclaimer: **Nope not today. Should be though.

**Holidays**

Hermione stepped into Val's dorm room, and saw that none of the other sixth years had made it up yet. That was a good thing.

"Val. Can we talk?" Hermione asked seeing Val sitting on the floor beside the window with her back turned towards her.

"Nothing to talk about, Mione." Came the sniffling response.

"Maybe you should talk to Harry?" Hermione suggested. She knew that Val was closer to Harry than either her or Ron.

"I don't think that would be a good idea right now." Val said wiping some of the tears from her face.

"There are things you don't know about Sirius. Harry should tell you." Hermione suggested.

"If you're talking about the fact that Sirius was innocent all along, I already knew that. I heard my fath…. Lucius speaking with one of his friends concerning it a few years back. He knew all along. He gloated so over the fact that Sirius had spent so many years in Azkaban. It thoroughly disgusted me." Val said looking up at the stars.

"Val. You don't want to be a Malfoy, and you just found out that you aren't. Isn't that a good thing?" Hermione asked knowing Val was hurting horribly.

Val didn't speak for a moment. Then her voice softly said. "It should be, but my life has been turned upside down. I lost my mother when I was five. I lost any hope for a normal life at that time. But I became accustomed to the life I had. Now I find myself with a different father, who might have shown me a different type of life, but the only problem is that he's been dead for over a year now. I've lost my name. Don't get me wrong. Being a Malfoy was not something I was proud of, but it was mine for sixteen years. And to top it all off I've lost the one good thing that I had while I was growing up. I've lost my brother. So I'm sorry Hermione, at this moment, I don't think talking to you, or Ron, or even Harry, is going to take this pain away. So if you don't mind, please leave me alone."

Hermione turned and walked away. She knew that she could stay and argue with Val, but what good would it do? The pain was too new, and it would be some time before it went away.

Val continued to sit looking out at the stars, but for once in her life she felt no comfort from their glow.

* * *

"She's gone." Hermione said slumping into one of the common room chairs. After her talk with Val the night before, she had found herself unable to sleep. So at first light she had went back to Val's dorm to try and talk again. But the girl was nowhere to be found, and her dorm mates had never heard her leave.

"Gone. Gone where?" Ron asked frowning.

"I don't know. She's not in her dorm and her bed doesn't look like it was slept in." Hermione said biting her lower lip. "You don't think she'd run away, do you?"

"Where to?" Harry said skeptically. "She has never known a place that I think she'd feel safe going. I think I'll just go check my map." Harry suggested.

"We don't have time, Harry. The train will be leaving soon." Ron piped up.

"I think she needs some time, Harry. You might want to just give her until break is over." Hermione suggested.

"All right, but I still think I should stay here." Harry answered.

"You can't, Harry. Dumbledore is counting on you." Hermione said sighing deeply, "And neither Ron's nor my parents would understand us skipping Christmas because we are worried about a friend." With these words said they stood and walked from the common room heading down to the Main Hall where they would leave for Christmas Holidays.

Ron continued the conversation after they boarded the train. "From what she told you last night, I doubt she'd talk to us even if we did stay here." Ron said frowning. "Why did Malfoy have to be such a git? I was sure he cared for her after that row with Snape over her."

Harry sat silently thinking. After every thing that had happened that year he too was positive that Draco would do anything for Val. "Apparently that was before he figured out she wasn't really his sister."

"Well I know to someone like Malfoy that would mean something, but they grew up together. You'd think that would count for something." Ron said bitterly. "Damn, if I'd only have kept my mouth shut at that Quidditch match. Maybe things would be different."

"That wouldn't change the fact that she's not his blood." Harry said staring out the window.

When they reached the train station at King's Cross Harry could see Remus Lupin waiting for him. "Harry. I'm so glad to see you in good spirits." Remus had been so very worried about Harry during the months he was at school. Even though Albus and Nymphadora had assured him that Harry was very happy while at Hogwarts, Remus still remembered the night that he had mended Harry's bleeding hand. He knew that teenage emotions were sometimes extremely unstable.

"Hello, Remus." It was still very difficult for Harry to use Remus' first name, but he couldn't very well call him Professor Lupin anymore. "It's good to see you."

Harry turned giving Ron and Hermione parting hugs and receiving a very motherly hug from Molly Weasley. "Will we be seeing you for Christmas?" Molly asked hopefully.

"We'll try to make it, Molly. Harry and I have a lot to get done this holiday." Remus said smiling at her.

Remus and Harry pushed through the barrier, and Harry soon found himself in a Muggle car and pulling away from the station as he watched Ron and Hermione waving at him brightly.

"So, Harry. How has school been?" Remus asked smiling brightly.

"Good, but…" Harry started but wasn't sure what to say.

"Is something wrong, Harry?" Remus asked frowning at Harry's uncharacteristic inability to finish his thoughts.

"Have you spoken to anyone from the school recently?" Harry asked, not sure if maybe Remus would already know about Val.

"Not for a few days. Has something happened?" Remus asked still not used to Harry beating around the bush.

"Do you know anything about Lucius Malfoy's first wife?" Harry answered his question with yet another question.

"Ah, Helena Maxwell. Yes, I knew her well. Her death was a very sad thing." Remus said realizing that Harry must want to talk about the new friend he had made in Valissa Malfoy. Tonks had told him all about the girl and her friendship with Harry. "So what is her daughter like?"

"From what I've been told she's exactly like her mother. She's kind, compassionate, loving and she's not a Malfoy." Harry said staring at Remus.

"Well no those are not normal Malfoy qualities, now are they, Harry?" Remus laughed slightly but his laughter died as he saw the serious look on Harry's face. "What is it, Harry?"

"Draco found Helena's private journal. It said that Val isn't Lucius Malfoy's child." Harry answered.

Remus nearly swerved from the road. He looked quite strange to Harry and at that moment Harry realized that Remus understood. "Why that dog." Remus said shaking his head and chuckling slightly.

"Sirius never mentioned a woman." Harry said smiling at the ironic reference to his godfather.

"Oh, Harry. This is a very long story. One that I can not tell you in a short car ride." Remus explained.

"But you will tell me?" Harry asked not wanting to be shut off from information again.

"Yes, I think I should. Your friend Val will need to know this story too, eventually." Remus said nodding. "How is she taking it?"

"Not well. She disappeared this morning. I almost didn't come today. I thought maybe I should stay at the school and find her." Harry said honestly.

"Well, I wouldn't have blamed you if you had. But I'm glad you came." Remus noticed that Harry was much more relaxed about going back to Black Manor since he had someone else to worry about. "Will you be okay, going back to Black Manor I mean?"

"I think maybe I need to." Harry said smiling at the older man, whom he had been very fond of at one time. He had been thinking during the entire train ride. He knew he couldn't go on the way he had the summer before. He dearly missed Sirius, but life had to continue, and he needed to learn as much about Sirius as he could, not only for his own sake, but for Val's also.

He remembered Remus' words from the summer also. He looked over to him and saw the strained, wearied look that was common for him. He knew that Remus had been staying at the Order Headquarters all alone during school. And Remus had said how alone he was with Sirius and James gone. It wasn't fair for Harry to think of just himself.

"I'm glad to see you are thinking again." Remus said as a true smile crossed his face and lighted his eyes, making him look so much younger.

"Yeah, It's about time." Harry said relaxing into his seat more.

As soon as they entered the Manor Harry felt a sort of depression try to swamp over him. How could one place feel so evil and foreboding? "I feel it too, you know." Remus said helping Harry to remove his coat.

Harry was surprised at his words. He turned a questioning glance to Remus. "What is it about this place that makes your skin crawl. It's almost like a Dementor's Kiss. I enter this house and I feel as if I will never be happy again." Harry said shivering at the thought.

"Sirius felt it too. Only those that have truly faced a Dementor or worse can feel it though. Arthur and Molly don't feel it when they are here. I've discussed it with Albus before. He thinks that there is some sort of dark magic woven into the house itself, by some of the original members of the Black family. But it can only be sensed by those that have been the most deeply affected by dark magic already." Remus explained for Harry. These were things that the Order had thought he was too young to know yet, until now. But he was not a child anymore. He was a man, and would soon be an active member of the Order.

"Is there any way to remove the dark magic?" Harry asked with a slight amount of relief. It was a relief to know that his behavior from the summer had been partly due to his environment, and not just his own juvenile attitude.

"We have not found a way as yet, but Dumbledore still searches." Remus answered leading him into the kitchen. "Now, Harry. Sit. I'll make us a small bite to eat and we can talk about a few things."

_

* * *

__Author's Note: An evil plot bunny just snuck up on me, and now this story will be a little bit longer than I originally intended, but then again, that always happens to me. What else can I do? Next chapter, a lot of information about Sirius and Helena._


	16. Sirius and Helena

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

_Author's Note: No I did not forget this story, I've just been very busy with my website. But I have not forgotten, so as penance I will try to post as many chapters as possible tonight._

**Sirius and Helena**

"Well, Harry. What do you already know?" Remus asked after they finished their supper.

"Not much. Lucius was married to Helena. Lucius had an affair with Narcissa. Draco was born. Draco went to live with Lucius and Helena. Val was born. When Val was five, Helena died, and Lucius married Narcissa. When Val was old enough they sent her to Beauxbatons Academy, and pretty much tried to forget she existed. If it wasn't for Draco she would probably still be there. That's it." Harry explained what he had learned so far.

"Well, Harry, if you truly want to know what happened you need to start way back when we were at Hogwarts. Helena was a Gryffindor and in our year. Sirius was infatuated with her the minute he saw her. But he would never let anyone see that, except his closest of friends. Ah but your Mom knew. She could always see right through us all. She's the one who got them together to begin with." Remus started the story and Harry could see a far off look in his eyes, knowing he was remembering happier times.

"Were they friends, my mom and Helena?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes, best friends to the horror of the Maxwell family." Remus chuckled. Harry looked confused. "The Maxwell family were purebloods, Harry, and more bigoted than even the Malfoys."

Harry understood immediately. His mom had been a Mudblood, and Helena had dared to have her as a best friend. "Val is more like her mom than I thought, then."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

"Val didn't have any friends at Beauxbatons, because she refused to be friends with the girls in her own social rank. Daughters of Death Eaters, I think she called them. The Malfoys were none to pleased, I guess." Harry explained.

"I imagine they wouldn't be." Remus smiled and then continued. "Oh it was fine for Helena to date Sirius. He was from the Black family, which held a very high social standing among the purebloods. But then the war with Voldemort started. Everyone was taking sides. Regulus Black as you know became a Death Eater, while Sirius aligned himself with the Order. When Sirius' mother disowned him, the Maxwell's went crazy. They locked Helena up, and wouldn't let her see Sirius."

"He surely did not stand for that, did he?" Harry asked, knowing his godfather would not let someone take something so dear away from him.

"No. He vowed to get her back, but then the deaths within the Order started. Your mom and dad were already married, but Sirius started to think about what it would mean for Helena if they were to marry and he would be killed. It didn't matter to him if he died in the service of the order. That was what being a member of the Order was all about. But if he were to marry Helena, her family would disown her. And without him she would have nothing." Remus said pausing for a moment.

"But she would have the Order." Harry said not understanding.

"Ah, but Sirius would not let her join the Order. Even though he was willing to risk his own life for the cause, he was unwilling to lose her to it. He loved her above any and all others. He knew if he were not in her life she would remain safe with her family. So he let her go. He wouldn't tell her the reason he would not see her anymore. She was heartbroken." Remus rubbed at his eyes as they threatened to tear up. He remembered how much it had pained his friend to do such a thing, but he understood why.

Harry felt he knew what some of the sadness he had seen in his Godfather's eyes was now. But there was something he did not understand. "But how did she end up marrying Malfoy? The way you describe her, makes me believe that she would hate him."

"She did hate him, Harry. She hated him more than any other man she knew. But her parents insisted. It was the only way to repair her reputation, after being involved with a notorious Blood Traitor, like Sirius. And after losing Sirius, Helena did not have the fight left in her to stop it. So she became Helena Maxwell Malfoy." Remus answered.

"But now that I think about it that wasn't the end of the story. I remember the day that Helena came to see me. She begged me to make her understand why Sirius had refused her. I knew I should just lie to her, but those large pleading emerald eyes could disarm anyone. I told her the truth. When she left me that day, she had tears in her eyes, but there was something else too. Hope. I never realized that she would find her way back into Sirius' arms, and he never said anything about it, but for a short while there, he was happy again. I never questioned it." Remus smiled at the memory. "It wasn't very long after that when your parents died and Sirius was taken to Azkaban. And that is all I know about the story, Harry."

Harry sat in silence for a moment thinking of all of the things he had just learned. "So when Helena found out about Lucius' affair with Narcissa, she had an affair with Sirius."

"Harry, don't think for a moment that what was between your Godfather and Helena was just a sordid affair. They loved each other just as deeply as your mom and dad did. I think maybe Helena was hurt by what Lucius had done, or maybe she had taken too much of life as a Malfoy. I'm not sure which, but she needed Sirius. And for a very short time, he was there for her again. If he had not gone to Azkaban, things might have been very different for the two of them." Remus said wishing he could change history to reflect the visions in his mind of a happy Sirius and Helena together raising a beautiful daughter with the emerald eyes of her mother, and the wavy dark hair of her father.

Harry went to bed that night, but did not sleep. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of his Godfather, and how life could have been so much better for him. He wondered if Sirius had learned of Helena's death while he was in Azkaban. Or if that was one of the many things he had had to face after his escape.

But then Harry's thoughts turned to an emerald-eyed young lady who was back at Hogwarts. Harry could do nothing for his Godfather's grief. But there was one thing he could do for the man, now that he was gone. He could be there for the daughter he had never known, and try to help her cope with the loss of a parent she had never known. That was one thing Harry was very good at. He had had sixteen years to learn to cope with that type of pain, and he was very good at it.

_

* * *

__Author's Note: I know very short chapter, but I wanted to center on the story of Sirius and Helena. Next chapter a shocking discovery at Black Manor._


	17. The Search

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

**The Search**

After several days of searching through the mansion Harry felt as if he would never find any thing of use to the Order. He and Remus had started on the first floor and were working their way up. They had found a few cabinets and closets that would only open for the true owner of the home, which to Harry's disgust only held family heirlooms, instead of anything useful. Harry was beginning to think that Regulus hadn't left anything in the house belonging to himself. It seemed odd to him that nothing belonging to the former Death Eater would be present. It was as if his family had wanted to erase his memory also.

Harry and Remus were in one of the rooms on the top floor. The room was very simple. It held very little furniture. But one entire wall was covered with a map of the Black family Manor. Harry stood gazing intently at the map. He could see nothing that would help them in their search and they would soon be out of rooms to go through.

Remus chuckled softly and Harry noticed he was staring at him. "What is it?" He asked feeling self-conscious.

"You looked just like Sirius for a moment there. I've seen him standing in that very spot many times staring at that map. He never seemed to see what he was looking for either." Remus explained.

"Yeah, well it's too bad I can't just tap it with my wand and reveal all of its secrets, like the Marauders Map." Harry said pulling his wand and tapping the wall. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry busted into laughter at his own small joke. But the laughter died as the look on Remus' face turned to amazement.

But Remus wasn't looking at Harry, but at the map. Harry turned to see that the map was changing. He saw hidden cabinets and cupboards appear throughout the home. And to his amazement a hidden door appeared on the map in the very room they stood in. It did not look as if the door went anywhere, but it was on the map all the same. According to the map the door should be in the center of the map wall itself. "Oh my." Harry whispered in awe. "Did I do that?"

"Yes, my boy. You most certainly did." Remus said in excitement running his hands along the wall where the door should have been. "But how do we get in?"

Harry thought for a moment, and realized how simple it must be. "The Room of Requirement."

"What, Harry?" Remus asked.

"On the map, the door goes nowhere. It's as if the room does not exist. On the Marauders' Map the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts does not show up either, nor does anyone or anything in it." Harry explained.

"So to enter.." Remus knew very little about the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts. He himself had never been in it. He just knew what he was told by Dumbledore.

"You have to walk past the door three times thinking of what you want the most. Then when it opens you find what you need." Harry explained.

"But what do we ask it for?" Remus asked.

"Can it be that simple?" Harry puzzled. "We ask for a place to hide things. We want the hidden secrets of Black Manor don't we? That's what Malfoy used to hide what he was doing in the Room at Hogwarts last year."

"Well it's worth a try." Remus said. "Stand back. I'll give it a whirl."

Harry stood back and watched Remus pacing in front of the door muttering to himself, and after the third pass a door appeared in the wall. Remus stopped. He motioned to the door. "Shall we?" Then he drew his wand holding it at the ready as he pulled the door open. At first the room was dark, but as they moved forward candles appeared in wall sconces.

They both stared around the room in awe. It was not a huge room as the one at Hogwarts seemed, but it was decent size. One side of the room was haphazardly piled with objects from the house. Harry recognized some of them as items Sirius had meant to throw out. "Kreacher has been in here." He scowled motioning to the pile.

"Yes, hoarding his Mistress' possessions I see." Remus answered stepping to the other side of the room. There were shelves covering the entire wall, and they could see strange objects packed onto the shelves.

"What are those?" Harry asked staring at things he had never dreamed of seeing. There were small shards of crystals, glass jars with disgusting dead creatures floating in liquid, potion bottles of all colors and sizes filled with potions he had not ever seen before and there were also amulets of different shapes and sizes with symbols of snakes on each.

Remus reached out and held his hand above some of the amulets, making sure not to touch any of them. He shook his head in disgust. "These are all used in the practice of the dark arts, Harry. There are things here that I had thought didn't even exist anymore."

Harry saw a Mahogany cupboard, large enough that a full grown man could have stood upright in it, standing against the far wall. He went to it and carefully opened the door, praying that nothing would come rushing out at him. But nothing did. When he opened the doors fully he could see books and various other items piled on the shelves of the cupboard. He sighed in relief and picked up a rather old spell book. "Look at these, Remus."

Remus joined him and they started looking at the books. They were an odd mix. Some were very old spell books, where others were fairly new textbooks. There was even a copy of the Monster Book of Monsters in the pile, which Harry was glad to see was belted closed. He remembered his copy of that book from his third year, and he also remembered the times it had tried to bite him. He pulled out the next book in the pile and saw it was a copy of an Advanced Potions Making textbook, similar to his from sixth year. He pitched it into the pile of books they were making on the floor, but the book slid off the pile and landed open on the floor. Harry bent to pick it up and replace it, when he noticed writing in the margins of the pages. His hand froze. He knew that handwriting. He picked the book up and thumbed through the pages. "How can this be?"

Remus looked to him. "What is it, Harry?"

"This Potions textbook. It was mine last year." Harry said quietly. "At Hogwarts."

"How do you know that?" Remus asked in confusion.

"The writing in the margins. The book belonged to someone called the Half Blood Prince. He wrote notes all through it. Improved the potions, and made new spells. But I hid this book in the Room of Requirement after I nearly killed Draco with a spell in it." Harry said shaking his head.

"You did what?" Remus asked, shocked to hear Harry admit to nearly killing anyone.

"It was an accident. I didn't know what the spell would do. When Snape found us he asked me to bring him all my books. I hid this one in the Room of Requirement in a cupboard." Harry looked at the cupboard he had just pulled the book out of and it was as if his mind was on fire. He knew it sounded impossible, but he would swear that the cupboard he had hid the book in was Oak not Mahogany, and it bared an acid scare on the front. This cupboard's finish was flawless. He looked to the floor where Remus had been placing items from the cupboard that were not books. He saw a cage with the skeleton of a five-legged creature in it. Harry began pulling all the books out of the cupboard not caring how they landed on the floor.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Remus asked as he watched Harry.

"Testing a theory." Harry answered pulling the last book out of the cupboard, and then proceeded to remove the shelves also.

Remus watched as Harry pulled the last one out, and then climbed into the cupboard himself. "I'm going to shut this door, Remus. Give me to the count of ten and then open the door. If I'm gone close the door again, and don't open it." Harry said.

"Gone. What are you talking about, Harry?" Remus said beginning to worry.

"Don't worry, I'll be just as safe as if I was back at school." Harry said devilishly then pulled the door closed.

"Harry, stop this and come out of there." He heard Remus from outside of the cupboard, but instead he felt along the edges of the back of the cupboard and then down the middle until he found a latch. He turned the latch and the back popped open. He stumbled out of the cupboard, and found himself in a room the size of a large cathedral piled with hidden objects. He closed the cupboard door and looked at it. It was an Oak cupboard with acid stains across the front and had the bust of a wizard perched on top sporting a wig and tiara, just as he'd left it when he'd hidden the textbook there the year before.

"I knew it." He could only be one place, but to be certain he made his way through the broken and hidden objects until he came to the door leading out. He opened the door to the sight of the tapestry of dancing trolls that was hung directly across from the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor of Hogwarts School. He smiled brightly and returned to the cupboard stepping back in and closing the door, then turned to the other side and felt for the latch. It was exactly opposite of the one he had used to get out of the other side. He turned it and stepped out of the cupboard smiling at the scowling Remus Lupin.

"Where were you?" Remus asked.

"In the safest place in all of England." Harry answered.

"Explain." Remus demanded.

"I was at Hogwarts School in the Room of Requirement. This cupboard is like the vanishing cabinet that Draco used last year to let the Death Eaters into the school." Harry explained.

Remus stared awestruck at the cupboard behind Harry. "That was still very dangerous, Harry. What if you'd ended up somewhere else?" Remus asked with a slight bit of anger tinging his voice.

"Remus, I know that book. I put it in that cabinet. I was positive where it would take me." Harry said his smile getting larger. Remus could not remain angry seeing the happiness in Harry's eyes. "I guess you plan on using this cupboard to go back and forth from the school, don't you?"

"Well, I was thinking about it." Harry admitted.

"I figured as much. Well, while you were on your little jaunt, I took a look at some of these books. I found something, that Albus will want to see soon." Remus said handing a book to Harry.

Harry opened it and it immediately turned to a page that had been closed on a locket. "The Horcrux." Harry said his eyes going wide.

"It was at one time. Now it is just a locket. Read the entry." Remus instructed.

Harry looked down to the page and read what looked like a journal entry.

It is done. I have finally determined how to undo the Dark Lords spell, though it was at a great price to myself. The locket is now just that, a locket. I wonder if the Dark Lord realizes that it has been done. If so I will be hunted till the end of my days, but I am satisfied in the fact that he is one step closer to being mortal, to being vulnerable.

_I must now continue my search for the five remaining Horcrux. I have discovered that he has entrusted the goblet of Helga Hufflepuff to one of his greatest supporters, but I am sure that if I attempt to retrieve it, I will be killed. But at any cost, I shall try. _

_If this journal should ever fall into another's hands but my own, and this is the last entry then be assured that I have failed in my attempt to gain the item, and if you are on the side of right and good in this fight against evil, I beseech thee to find the Secret House of Serpents. There you will find the second piece of the puzzle._

_R.A.B._

Harry finished the entry and turned to the next page. It was blank. Regulus had failed.

_

* * *

__Author's Note: Next chapter disaster strikes._


	18. Disaster

**Disclaimer: **Nope, nope, not mine.

**Disaster**

Harry and Remus took turns going through the cupboard into Hogwarts and headed straight to Dumbledore's office. They heard Dumbledore answer after only one knock. "Come in."

For the first time in his seven years at Hogwarts Harry believed that he saw utter surprise on the face of Albus Dumbledore. "Hello, Harry, Remus. Do sit down." He said covering it well.

Harry and Remus both sat comfortably across from Dumbledore. "We have news." Remus said immediately.

"Oh, then you are not here because of…" But Dumbledore stopped his sentence thinking better of it for a moment.

"Of what, Sir?" Harry asked noticing the uncharacteristic look upon Dumbledore's face. He was worried. Harry had not seen him this worried since the Death Eater attack the year before.

"I'm sorry, Harry. For a moment I slipped into old habits. I almost did not tell you. I'm afraid Ms. Malfoy has come up missing." Dumbledore answered.

"Val." Harry said shakily. He felt his insides run cold. "How long?"

"I'm afraid since the day you left. That makes it over a week and a half now. I am positive that she would have had no way to leave the grounds, but we have searched the entire place." Dumbledore said rubbing his forehead.

"I'll get my map. Maybe she's hiding somewhere. Maybe she borrowed my invisibility cloak." Harry suggested.

"I'm afraid I already thought of that, Harry. I'm sorry but I borrowed your map without asking." Dumbledore answered pulling the Marauders' Map from under some papers on the desk and handing it to Harry. Harry looked it over but did not see Val anywhere on it.

"Well then she has to be in the Room of Requirement. I never showed her any of the secret passages out of Hogwarts." Harry suggested.

"But we just came from there, Harry." Remus said shaking his head.

"Maybe there is a way for more than one person to be in there at a time, and not know it." Harry suggested. But he knew it was not possible. When he had tried to enter the room the year before while Draco was in it, the door would not appear because he did not ask it for the same thing that Draco had. "Well, where else could she be?" Harry asked angrily.

"I'm afraid that maybe she did find a way out of Hogwarts. If that is the case things look very grim." Dumbledore said in a low voice. "Whether she is seen to the outside world as a Black or a Malfoy, she will be hunted by the Death Eaters. But don't give up hope yet, Harry. I have the rest of the Order searching all of England for her, and Hagrid is searching the Forbidden Forest."

Harry didn't hear Dumbledore's words of assurance. "May I be excused?" He asked in a half-hearted whisper.

"But don't you want to tell Albus of what we found, Harry?" Remus asked seeing the downtrodden look on Harry's face.

"You go ahead, Remus. I'm going up to my dorm." Harry answered turning not waiting to be excused.

"Harry." Remus said not wanting to let Harry leave in such a state.

"Let him go, Remus. There is only one thing going to make him happy now. And out of anyone at this school, I trust him to be the most likely to find her." Dumbledore said smiling at the door where Harry had just departed. "Now, tell me my friend. How did you and he get onto school grounds without setting off my wards?"

* * *

Harry sat alone in his dorm room that night staring at his Marauders' Map hoping for any sign that Val might still be on the grounds. There were no signs to be had. All through out the night Harry thought about what had brought Val to such a state. He could only place the blame on one person. And at about sunrise he noticed on his map that, that person was leaving the castle and heading towards the Quidditch Pitch. Harry grabbed his Firebolt in case Malfoy was in the air when he arrived on the Pitch, and headed down to the main doors of the school completely forgetting his map, leaving it on his bed.

It was really too cold a day to be riding a broom, but Harry noticed Malfoy flying through the air on the far side of the pitch, near the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. Harry wondered what Malfoy was up to. He saw Malfoy looking his way and placed his fingers in his mouth to whistle loudly. At first he thought Malfoy would ignore the whistle as he turned his face back towards the forest, but after a moment more he turned back towards Harry and within moments had landed ten feet away.

He stepped from his broom and removed the goggles that he wore to protect his eyes from the bitter cold wind. Harry could see that his cheeks and lips were chapped. "What do you want, Potter? I thought you left for the Holidays."

"I came back last night. You'd imagine how shocked I was to find out that Val was missing." Harry said angrily.

"Is she? I hadn't heard." Draco scowled.

"What are you doing flying on a day like today?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"I enjoy the cold weather." Draco said snarling. "What business is it of yours when I fly?"

Harry was tired of the cat and mouse game he was playing with Draco. "Listen, Malfoy. If any harm comes to her, I will personally use the Sectumsempra curse on you when Snape isn't here to save you." Harry threatened.

Draco's mouth gaped a moment. He never imagined that the perfect Harry Potter would give in to the need for revenge that gleefully. But his shock at the words wore off and was replaced by the classic Malfoy sneer. "Well, Potter. If it is a duel you are seeking, why not now?"

Harry's hand strayed towards his wand, but he stilled it as he caught a whiff of a burning smell. That was not a smell common at Hogwarts, not even in the kitchens. Harry turned his head towards the smell and his eyes widened as he saw smoke coming from Hagrid's house. Not a small amount of smoke, but huge clouds of billowing smoke poured from the building. "Oh, hell." He said stepping towards the building that was surely on fire.

"Come on, Potter. It's just a shack. Dumbledore will build him a new one." Draco said taunting Harry, as if he couldn't wait to get on with the duel.

Harry turned on Draco as his anger increased threefold. "That's his home, you git." Harry said removing his wand meaning to throw a hex at Draco. But the curse died on his lips as he saw Draco's face becoming paler than he had ever seen it. Harry turned back to the burning house and saw flying around the hut a tawny colored owl. The bird was trying desperately to get into one of the windows that flame was coming out of.

"Pem." Draco said moving forward slowly. "That bloody bird loves her. Val." At those words Draco took off at a dead run towards the burning hut. Harry heard Draco's words and felt icy fingers grabbing at his soul. He followed just a few feet behind Draco.

When they reached the hut Draco pulled his wand and blasted the door from its hinges. There was billowing smoke coming from what was left of the roof, and flames were dancing in every direction. Draco dove through the door not caring if his clothes caught fire. Harry followed right behind him. Neither of them could see far in front of their faces. But the hut was small and Draco finally came across something soft lying on the floor. He bent and could feel Val's unconscious form next to the room's only bed. He tried to pick her up but soon discovered a heavy wooden beam was lying across her upper thigh. Draco tried to look around for Harry. He saw a figure moving across the room in the smoke. "Potter, help." He yelled over the roar of the fire.

Harry was by his side in moments, levitating the beam off Val as Draco pulled her out from under it. He picked her up and followed Harry out the rear door, which was surrounded by less flames. Once they were away from the hut, Draco could see Val. She looked deathly pale and her breathing was thready and shallow. "Come on, Draco. We have to get her to the Hospital Wing fast." Harry said pulling him towards the school.

Draco looked to the school seeing how far away it seemed all of a sudden. "She doesn't have time for this." Draco let go of her legs and held out his hand. "Accio, broom." He bellowed and within seconds his broom was resting in his hand. "Help me." His voice pleaded in a way Harry had never heard from him before.

Harry held onto Val as Draco mounted his broom, and then Harry handed her too him. Draco held her balanced across his broom in front of where he sat. It was a precarious position, but he managed it all the same holding her shoulders in one arm and reaching across her legs to grip the broom in front of her. He lifted into the air slowly and started towards the Hospital Wing widows. "Accio, Firebolt." Harry called out and his own broom was there in seconds. He too mounted his broom and easily caught up with Draco who was going slower making sure he did not drop Val.

Harry reached the window first and called out the charm to open it. He flew through, with Draco right behind him.

"My word. Mr. Potter. What do you think you are doing?" Madame Pomfrey started to complain loudly, but then she saw whom Draco was carrying. "Oh my. Put her down, now."

Harry helped Draco to place Val on one of the beds. They could both see the extent of her injuries then. Her face was smudged black from the smoke, and her cloths were melted to her skin in several places along her body, and her hip and leg seemed to be lying at a strange angle that was all too unnatural. Madame Pomfrey rushed them both from the room.

Draco walked across the long hall outside the Hospital wing and slumped on the floor opposite the doors. Harry could not read the look on his face. It was completely blank. Harry stood next to the door staring at Draco.

After several moments Draco opened his mouth. But no sound came from it. His lips moved as if he was trying to speak, but the sound was not there. Harry crossed the hall and sat next to Draco, making sure not to touch him. "She'll be fine." He whispered.

At that moment the sound finally erupted from Draco. It was not a word, but instead a low moan, as he pulled his knees up close to his body and laid his forehead on them. "This is my fault." He finally forced from his lips.

Harry did not disagree with him. He just sat there waiting. After a few moments more they could see Dumbledore, Lupin, and Hagrid coming down the hall towards the Hospital Wing at a fast pace. "Is she in there?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes." Harry answered. "Madame Pomfrey asked us to wait out here."

"Oh. I should have never left her there alone." Hagrid cried out slumping against the wall.

"What was she doing there?" Harry asked.

Hagrid looked down at him and could see the confusion. "I found her in the forest less than an hour ago. She's been hiding in there this entire time. She was very frightened. You know how the creatures in the forest can be. But when I brought her out of the forest she didn't want to come back to the school. She fought me all the way to my house. I decided to compromise with her. I told her she could stay in me hut as long as she wanted, if she'd let me go get Madame Pomfrey to look her over. So I came to the castle, to get Professor Dumbledore. When I left everything was fine. She had curled up on my bed, and was fast asleep." Hagrid explained.

"When we found her she was lying on the floor next to the bed, under a support beam." Draco spoke up. He didn't look at them. He was staring at the doors across from him willing Madame Pomfrey to open them.

"It's a good thing you two were nearby." Albus said looking down at the two young men, mentally making a note to have Draco Malfoy given a calming tonic. The man was quite certainly going into shock.

At that moment Madame Pomfrey opened the door. Harry and Draco stood immediately. "I have done what I can for now." She said sadly.

"She's going to be okay. Isn't she?" Harry asked.

"I have healed the burns, and have mended her broken hip, but her lungs are very weak due to the smoke she breathed in. It will take many deep healing sessions to repair the damage to them." She answered looking exhausted. "You may go in two at a time to see her, but I will warn you, I gave her a sleeping draught. She is sleeping comfortably."

"Go ahead, Harry, Draco." Dumbledore insisted.

Harry and Draco walked into the sterile white room and saw Val lying motionless in the bed. Her burnt cloths had been changed and she was clean. She looked peaceful, but they could both hear the rasping noise she made as she drew in breath. Harry walked over and took one of her hands, in his. "You're going to be okay, Val. I know in my heart that this won't hold you down." He whispered. "You have to come back. I have learned so much that you need to know."

Draco watched the touching scene, and again he thought for the hundredth time. 'This is my fault' He immediately turned and left the room, not looking back, and not stopping when Dumbledore called his name. He did not stop walking until he reached the owlry where Pem was waiting for him.

He sat next to the window that he and Val had stargazed from on a night that seemed a million years before. His hands immediately covered his eyes as the sobs wracked his body. And he repeated the words over and over to himself. "This is my fault. This is my fault."

* * *

_Author's Note: Ah well my frequent readers know how mean I can be to my characters. Poor things. But it wouldn't be as interesting if everything were sunny and wonderful. Now would it?_


	19. Snape’s Talk

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**Snape's Talk**

It had been two days, and neither the teachers nor Lupin were able to discern how the fire had started in Hagrid's house. But Dumbledore was positive that he felt a shimmer of recent magic used near the back entrance of the small home. Val herself hadn't woken from the deep healing sleep she was immersed in, and Madam Pomfrey refused to let anyone wake her. She insisted that if Val was to heal properly her body must be allowed the rest it needed.

Harry sat at the foot of Val's bed day in and day out; not making any noise for fear that Pomfrey would toss him out. His thoughts often wandered to where Draco had disappeared to. Malfoy had not been back to the Hospital Wing and every time Harry would look at his map, he could see the name Draco Malfoy in the Owlry, even late at night sometimes. He had seen the haunted look on Draco's face after they rescued Val. Harry knew that he and Ron had been wrong about Draco. It did not matter to him that Val wasn't his blood. She was still his sister, and probably the most important person in the world to the young man.

Harry was lost in thoughts about Val, Draco, Lucius, Helena and Sirius when he felt something nudge his knee. He looked at Val thinking she had moved in her sleep, but was surprised to see her eyes open. A broad smile spread across his face. "You're awake."

"Am I?" She asked in a croaking voice.

"Let me get Madam Pomfrey." Harry said, but Val shook her head.

"No. I just need a drink of water." Val said her voice raspy.

"Okay." Harry said reaching out and pouring her a cup from a pitcher on her bedside table. He then helped her to sit up as he gave her a small sip of the cool liquid.

"That's better." She said after the drink and her voice did sound more normal. She looked around the Hospital Wing in confusion. "Why am I in the Hospital Wing?"

"You don't know?" Harry asked in surprise.

She seemed to concentrate for a moment. "Hagrid found me in the forest. He took me to his house. I fell asleep on his bed." She paused then shaking her head, as if it was full of cobwebs. "Something woke me up. Someone talking. It sounded like a spell. There was smoke everywhere. I couldn't breath. I tried to get out, but my legs wouldn't move, so I fell on the floor. That's all I remember." Val said a deep frown crossing her forehead.

"So you didn't start that fire." Harry said and she could see the anger crossing his face.

"No, why would I want to burn down Hagrid's house? Oh, no. Hagrid. Is he okay? Was he hurt?" She asked looking at the empty beds surrounding her in her panic.

"Hagrid is fine. He was in the castle looking for Dumbledore." Harry assured her.

She sighed in relief. "And no one else was hurt?"

"No. Just you." Harry smiled weakly.

"But, I feel just fine." Val said in confusion, picking up her arms seeing that they worked just fine.

"That's because you've been asleep for three days, while Madam Pomfrey healed you." Harry said shaking his head.

"Three days." Val said amazed. "But.."

"You received some severe burns and a broken hip. Plus your lungs were damaged by the smoke." Harry explained. Val's eyes became wide.

"I don't remember any of it." She whispered. "I barely remember my time in the woods and Hagrid's house."

At that Harry decided to ask the question that he had been turning over and over in his head for three days. "Why did you run away, Val?"

She looked down at her hands as if in shame. "I wasn't meaning to run away, Harry. I just needed to get away from the school. I only meant to go along the very edge of the Forbidden Forest. I thought maybe I would catch a glimpse of a Unicorn. I've never seen one in the flesh before. But then my thoughts became muddled. It wasn't long before I realized I had gone too far into the forest. I meant to come back, but I ran into something that scared me. I'm not sure what it was. Maybe some kind of gigantic spider. Once I was away from it I realized I had no idea where I was, or which way to go."

"Why didn't you use your wand to signal for help?" Harry asked imagining how very frightened she must have been. He remembered Aragog's children and how they had nearly eaten he and Ron.

"In my desperate attempt to flee the creature I lost my wand. I was so confused as to where I was going. Before long all of the strange sounds frightened me so badly that I just found a hollowed out tree stump next to a creek bed and hid. I had water when I was brave enough to come out of hiding, and I think I ate grass. I'm not sure. It's all mixed up in my mind. That's where Hagrid found me." And then her eyes became wide. "And, Harry, there was a giant with him. I heard them talking. The giant told Hagrid that he had heard crying coming from the log."

Harry silently said a word of thanks to Gwarp, and swore to visit the giant the first chance he had.

"Am I crazy, Harry?" Val asked knowing her words sounded ridiculous.

"No, Val. You are not crazy. That giant was Gwarp. He's Hagrid's little brother." Harry chuckled when he saw how Val's mouth gaped at the words 'little brother'. "But not very many people know about Gwarp." He warned knowing she would keep the information to herself.

Harry had one more question. "Why did you not want to be in the school, Val?"

Again she lowered her face. "I had to get away, Harry. I was overwhelmed by all the information. I couldn't be around people. I couldn't be around him…" Her words faded as tears threatened to spring to her eyes again.

"By him, you mean Draco." Harry said understanding.

"It hurts so much, Harry. I had so much time to think while I was hidden in the forest. I can accept that I am not Lucius' daughter. I can accept that my mother had an affair. The heart leads us down strange paths at times. I can almost accept the fact that my true father is dead. It hurts, but I cannot change it. But the one person I have always counted on in my life, the one person who always loved me unconditionally is now a stranger to me. It hurts more than I can withstand." She said her voice breaking.

"Val. Draco may not be your brother in blood, but he still loves you." Harry said sighing. He hadn't wanted to have to tell her about the way Draco had saved her. He wanted to hate Draco. But it was impossible after the things he had seen.

"How can you say that, Harry?" She said as if he had stuck her.

"Because Draco and I saved you from that fire, together." He answered her.

A look of confusion spread across her face, so he continued. "We were having an argument on the Pitch, when we saw Hagrid's house on fire. Draco saw his owl, Pem, flying around the house trying to get in. He realized at once that you had to be in there for the owl to act so crazy. I have never seen Draco act more bravely. He dove into the burning house. I followed him. He was the one that found you. After we got you out he flew you into that window." Harry said motioning to the window beside the bed.

"Draco did all that?" She asked shaking her head as if to deny it.

"Yes, and there is more." Harry said, realizing that if he was going to tell her that much he might as well tell it all. "Back before he became so angry at you, all the beatings he received. He got them, because he turned in those Death Eaters that were caught. He traded information about them to Snape, so Snape would be nicer to you." Harry admitted the secret he had been keeping from her.

"So their children beat him for ratting them out." She said catching on to what Harry was saying. "But he never told anyone who was doing it."

"He told me the night that I found him in the Room of Requirement. He made me promise not to tell you. He was afraid they'd hurt you, to get him back if he told the adults." Harry said.

Val seemed to have a far off look in her eyes. Harry wasn't sure what to make of it. "Why isn't he here with me then, Harry? When we were younger, he would never leave me if I was hurt or sick." He could tell she was grasping at straws. Everything she thought she had figured out over the past two weeks was unraveling before her eyes.

"Val, just about the only thing he could say after we brought you here was that it was his fault. He blames himself for you nearly being burned to death. Val, you didn't see his eyes. You didn't hear his voice." Harry explained.

Val made a strangled sound in her throat as if she was trying hard not to sob. She felt as if her heart was trying to burst inside her chest. "Where is he, Harry?"

"He spends almost all his time in the Owlry. I haven't been up there, though." Harry said taking her trembling hand in his own. "In a couple of days when Madam Pomfrey lets you go, I'll take you there, and you can talk to him."

Val shook her head, as the tears started sliding down her cheeks. "I can't talk to him, Harry."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Things aren't the same between us now, Harry. We'll never be like we were before. There's too much pain and anger between us now." She said as the first of the sobs was torn from her throat.

"No, Val." Harry said pulling her into his arms holding her tight as she cried on his shoulder. "You can't mean those words. I know you too well." He whispered into her hair.

But as the days went by Harry could not convince Val that she should talk to Draco. She was not belligerent about the situation, she just did not respond when Harry mentioned it.

* * *

School started back again with Ron and Hermione returning smiling happily. Their smiles faded though as Harry and Val told them what had happened to her. But they glossed over the worst parts of if, as she still didn't feel up to talking about it.

No one had seen Draco as the second day of classes started. When Harry entered Advanced Potions to see Professor Snape scowling at Draco's empty seat he saw trouble brewing ahead.

"Your assignment is on the board. See that it is finished by the end of class. I have some business to attend to." Snape growled. "Potter, may I see you outside of the classroom?"

"Yes, Sir." Harry said frowning. He hadn't done anything yet. What could he be in trouble for this time?

When they stood outside the classroom, Snape pinned Harry down with a knowing stare. "Where is Malfoy?" He hissed.

"I'm sorry, Sir." Harry said in surprise.

"Malfoy. Draco has very rarely been seen in the Slytherin common room in days. I know about your map. Where does it say he spends his time?" Harry blanched. A teacher. Nonetheless Professor Snape was asking him to rat out where Draco had been hiding. Normally he would have been jumping for joy at the thought of getting Malfoy in trouble, but he felt uneasy about it now.

"I'm not sure." Harry stuttered.

"Listen, Potter. It's about time Malfoy, stopped mourning the loss of his sister, who is very much alive, and time he rejoins us among the living in this school. If I have to I will order you to retrieve your map and show me where he is, but I have a feeling you already know." Snape spat out the threat. But then in a softer tone. "Listen, boy. I'm not going to hurt him. My God with that damn Vow I made, it would be impossible for me to do that. I just want to talk some sense into him."

"No offence, Professor, but are you sure you are the one to have this little talk with him?" Harry asked swallowing hard.

"Well the one person whom he needs to talk to the most refuses to do so. So in that case I'm all he's got." Snape came back.

Harry didn't realize that Snape knew about Val's unwillingness to speak to Draco. But then he understood that teachers would talk and Dumbledore always seemed to know everything. "He spends most of his time in the Owlry." Harry finally admitted.

"Thank you, Potter. You may return to class." Snape said striding past him and away from the classroom. But as he went Harry heard something. "Oh and, Potter. Ten points from Gryffindor, for your knack of second guessing your Professors." Harry shook his head and reentered the class.

As Severus Snape entered the Owlry he could see Draco Malfoy sitting in a corner staring out the window. His cloths were filthy and his hair untidy. Snape scowled knowing that Draco Malfoy normally took great pride in his appearance. "Mr. Malfoy."

Draco's head snapped around towards Snape and Severus could see that his eyes were red rimmed, and there was dirt streaked with tears on his face. "Professor Snape." He said stumbling to stand.

"Mr. Malfoy, what exactly are you doing here?" Snape asked quietly.

"Just thinking, Sir. I'm sorry were you looking for me?" Draco asked respectfully, which in itself was very unlike him.

"Well, Mr. Malfoy, I was just wondering why it is, that you are late for my class?" Severus asked in that same quiet tone.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I did not realize I was late. How late am I? I will make it up." Draco said and Severus could see that he had no idea what time or even what day it was.

"You are precisely one day and thirty five minutes late for my first class of the term." Snape answered coldly.

It took Draco a moment to realize what was being said. "Classes started yesterday?" He said swallowing hard.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, they did." Severus answered, but his words were not callous after hearing the confusion in his voice. "Draco. You need to pull yourself together."

Draco's face still held that blank look and he remained silent. "You are stronger than this. Your guilt is ruling you."

Draco turned around staring out the window again. "It's all I have left, Sir." He said quietly.

Severus crossed to where Draco stood, and laid one hand on his shoulder. He was shocked to see that the young man did not pull away this time. "She doesn't blame you."

Draco started shaking his head. "She wouldn't. But I do." He answered.

"Don't you think that your time would be better spent looking for the person responsible for this instead of this self-inflicted exile you have placed upon yourself?" Severus asked.

Draco didn't say anything at first, but then he turned to Snape. "What do you mean 'the person responsible'?"

Severus knew he had him. "Oh, I forgot. You weren't around when Val woke. It seems that someone set that fire, and then used a leg-locking curse on her, so she could not leave Hagrid's hut."

Draco's eyes doubled in size. "Someone tried to murder her."

"That's what it seems to me." Severus answered seeing the flame ignite inside Draco's eyes. He secretly smiled inside himself, knowing that giving the young man a purpose would keep him from wallowing in self-recrimination.

"Sir, I'm afraid I will miss the rest of your class. I need to get cleaned up. Let me know when you want me to make up the two days I missed." Draco said striding past Snape purposefully.

"Draco." Snape said as he reached the door to the Owlry. Draco stopped and faced him. "Just because she's not your sister, it doesn't mean she doesn't care for you as much as she ever did." Draco stared back at him, but did not answer as he turned and left the Owlry.


	20. Memories Relived

**Disclaimer: **I was told that I was too old for Draco, so I guess he's not mine. Not fair.

**Memories Relived**

Harry had been sitting in the common room thinking about all of the things that Remus had told him. He knew he had to talk to Val eventually about Sirius and Helena. But he wasn't sure how to go about doing it. He wasn't sure if he could tell the story as well as Remus had, and he didn't want to make Val feel worse about the whole thing.

"Just tell her, Harry." Hermione suggested knowing why Harry was lost in thought. Harry had already discussed the whole thing with Ron and Hermione. He had hoped that they would help him with telling Val, but neither of them felt it was their place to talk to Val about Sirius. Harry was the one she trusted the most, and he was the one who had been close to Sirius.

Val was sitting across from Harry and next to Hermione. It was a snowy Saturday and they were stuck indoors working on homework. Val looked up at Hermione's words. She looked from Harry to Hermione and then back to Harry. "Tell who what, Harry?" Val asked knowing that Hermione had to have been talking about her.

Harry gave Hermione a sarcastic smile and then turned his attention to Val. "Well, Val…You see…I know…" He had no clue how to start the conversation. He saw the expectant look on Val's face and knew he had to say something. But what?

He paused for another moment thinking, and then abruptly stood. "Come with me." He said reaching out and taking Val's hand pulling her to her feet.

Before Val knew what was happening she was being pulled down the halls of Hogwarts. "Where are we going, Harry?" She asked in confusion.

"Dumbledore's office." He answered but said nothing else. Val thought for a moment that she would pull away from his grip. She didn't want to go to Dumbledore's office. Why was Harry acting so strange, she wondered. But she trusted Harry and knew there was something he was holding back. She wanted to know what that thing was.

So she waited patiently as he gave the password to the two gargoyles and then stepped onto the stairs waiting for them to take her to the Headmaster's office. Harry knocked on the door and she heard Dumbledore call out for them to enter.

"Ah, Harry and Val. It is so nice to see you here." Professor Dumbledore said cordially, motioning for them to sit. "Would you care for a refreshment?"

Harry shook his head and Val could see that he was staring at a large stone basin that was placed on the Headmaster's desk. The basin had strange runes around the lip and she could see a silvery liquid inside.

"I'm afraid I was just about to leave, Harry. I have a few things to attend to. Was there something you needed?" Dumbledore smiled in that knowing way.

Harry opened his mouth to make the request that was there. But no sound came out. He did not know if he should ask for the favor now that he was sitting before Dumbledore.

"You know, Harry. You are allowed to borrow any of my possessions as long as they are not harmful to you or others." The Headmaster said smiling yet again and then standing. "Please shut the door on your way out."

Before Harry could express his gratitude, the wise old wizard was gone. Val was completely confused by the one sided conversation. She stared at Harry wondering if he even knew why they were there at that point.

But then Harry began to speak. "One of these days, I'm going to figure out how he does that." With those words he broke out in laughter.

"Does what?" Val asked in even more confusion.

Harry turned to her when his laughter subsided. "Know exactly what I want before I even ask it of him."

Harry reached out and pulled the stone basin closer to them. "Do you know what this is, Val?" He asked in a serious tone.

"Not really, Harry. But do you think you should mess with it. It looks really old." Val answered.

"You heard Dumbledore. This is what I wanted to borrow when we got here. He knew it, and had it out and ready for me." Harry answered. "This is called a Pensieve, Val."

A look of awe spread across Val's face. "I've heard of them. Lucius wanted one. But they are difficult to find."

"So do you know the basic idea behind using one?" Harry asked.

"Yes. A Pensieve is used to store memories. When a wizard finds himself too bogged down in memories or he wants to show an exact memory to someone without it being changed in any way, he can store those memories in a Pensive." Val said, and Harry thought she had the concept down.

"I want to show you a memory, Val." Harry said.

"A memory of what, Harry?" She asked nervously.

"Just a conversation I had with a dear friend, over Christmas break." Harry answered. "It's important that you see this memory just as I remember it, Val."

Val swallowed hard. "Okay, Harry." She answered. "What do I do?"

"Watch." Harry reached up with his wand and touched his temple concentrating on the memory of his talk with Remus. When he pulled the wand away it was as if silvery-blue threads were attached to it. He placed the threads into the Pensieve. "Now you must touch the liquid. You will feel as if you are falling, but you'll be fine. I'll follow you in. I promise I won't leave you alone." He said smiling brightly.

Val reached out her hand shakily and touched the liquid. She felt a sudden pulling feeling and then the sensation of falling. When she stopped she was standing in a large kitchen staring at two people sitting at a table. They were finishing a small meal. She walked around the table so she could see both of their faces. "Harry." She said seeing Harry sitting there eating.

"Behind you." His voice came from behind her. She quickly turned to see him standing behind her.

"But.." She turned again to the Harry at the table and then it dawned on her. "This is your memory."

"Yes. That man is Remus Lupin. He was a teacher here my third year, and he was a good friend of both our fathers."

For some reason Val knew he wasn't talking about Lucius. But then the figures started talking. She listened intently to them. When Remus talked of the love between her parents Val started to feel tears well in her eyes again. She hadn't known that it was more than just an affair for them. When the conversation was over Harry took her hand. "It's time to go now."

When they were sitting back in Dumbledore's office Val became very quiet as she stared at the basin. After a few moments of silence Val finally spoke. "It's not fair, Harry. They never even had a chance."

"I know. I felt the same way after I talked to Remus. I'm sorry, Val. I knew this would be hard for you to see, but you have the right to know." He said still holding her hand tightly not wanting to break the connection between them.

"Do you think they are together now?" She asked surprising him. He hadn't even thought of the possibility. "I never really believed in true afterlife. Oh I know there are ghosts and all, but for those that aren't trapped on earth." She stopped speaking there.

"I was there when your father died, Val." Harry said remembering the curtain in the Death Room at the Department of Mysteries.

"You were?" Val said leaning forward. She had not known that.

"Val, there are so many things you don't know about Sirius and I." Harry said smiling.

"In your memory, Remus called him your Godfather." Val said remembering that small detail.

"Yes, Val. Sirius Black was my Godfather. He was my father's best friend. The house in my memory is the Black Family Manor. Sirius left it to me in his will." This information did shock Val.

"You spent time with him then." She said with a sad look on her face.

"Yes, Val. Not nearly enough time. But some." He answered.

"Was he.." She started to say but paused. "Did he.." But yet again she couldn't express herself. She was becoming choked up. Harry meant so much to her. But he had something she desperately wanted, but could not have. He knew her father, and she could tell how much they had cared for each other just by looking into Harry's eyes. Finally she was able to express herself. "Did he see you as a son, Harry?"

"In a way, yes. That and a replacement for his best friend, at times. He missed my father immensely." Harry nodded.

"I'm glad he had you, Harry." She said bitterly and the painful tears started coursing down her cheeks again.

"I'm sorry, Val." Harry said realizing what his words had done to her. "It's not fair, that I knew him like a father, and you never even met him. I didn't want to cause you more pain."

"It's not your fault, Harry. I used to look at life and see all the good things. But now I realize just how cruel fate really is. Life isn't fair. It never has been. Why would this be any different?" Val said pulling her hand from Harry's and stood leaving him where he sat. She didn't look back as she left the office.

Harry sat where he was for a long time. He knew that if he went looking for Val it would just anger her, but he felt as if he had messed everything up. He had seen the memory as a gift to Val. A look into her parent's relationship. But instead he had driven her away feeling alone and mistreated. He had planned on telling her everything that day. About hearing people talking behind the curtain in the Death Room. About how he knew Sirius and her mother were waiting for her there. But then he would have had to tell her about how Voldemort had used him, and how Sirius had died saving him. What would that do to her? Would she hate him for it?


	21. Tonks

**Disclaimer: **Not mine. See chapter 1.

**Tonks**

For several weeks after Val saw Harry's memory, things were tense between the two of them. Harry attempted several times to speak to Val about their conversation, but she refused. She still sat with them at meals and studied with them in the common room, but it seemed to the three friends as if she was pulling away from them and turning in upon herself. Others noticed the change in Val, and quite a few comments about acting like a Malfoy were overheard in the corridors.

But Val cared not what anyone thought anymore. She was not there to make friends. She was there to get an education in the magical arts. Which she was throwing herself into without any thought to her friends or her former brother.

There were several times that she would see Draco in the hallways, but not a word was ever said. Instead she would stare straight ahead as if she did not see him at all. She noticed a few times as he walked by that he would stop almost as if he would say something to her, but she never stopped walking, and then the opportunity was gone.

Anytime that she would allow either Harry or Draco to enter her thoughts she felt a deep sadness settle over her soul. At those times she would throw herself deeper into her studies wanting to erase any memories that might surface. She felt she had finally come to understand how to survive in the world they were in. If she didn't care she would not get hurt. But was she able to do that?

"Ms. Mal.." Nymphadora Tonks began to say, but corrected herself. "Val, would you please stay after class?"

Val had been lost in thought and hadn't realized that Professor Tonks was speaking to her. "Yes, of course." She said dreading the lecture she was sure to get.

After the last student had left the classroom, Tonks pulled a chair up across from where Val was sitting. Val felt uncomfortable with Tonks staring at her. "So Val, is there anyone in this world that you aren't mad at now?"

"I'm sorry, Professor Tonks?" Val said shocked.

"Don't pretend with me. And don't call me Professor. Its just Tonks." She said in a very casual manner.

"I don't ..know if I can do that. You are my teacher." Val stuttered slightly.

"I'm also your cousin. And right now I'm talking to you as that." Tonks answered her steadily.

"My cousin!" Val said in surprise.

"Second cousin or something like that." Tonks said waving it away as if it really didn't matter. "On your dad's side."

"I had no idea." Val began.

"Yeah well you've known who your real father was for a couple of months now, but you really haven't even attempted to learn about him. That seems sort of strange to me." Tonks said a little reproachfully.

Val thought that Tonks saying that anyone else was strange was the most ironic thing she had ever heard. She very much respected the Auror for her bravery, and self-independence, but she didn't much appreciate being scolded by someone who hardly knew her. "Maybe I prefer not to know anything else." She said rather coldly.

"Or maybe you're afraid of what you might learn or of what your reactions might be?" Tonks suggested.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Val said but suddenly found she could not look Tonks in the eye.

"You can't pretend indifference forever, Val. It's obvious to anyone that has eyes how much pain you're in." Tonks said softly this time.

"What am I supposed to do, Tonks? Sirius is dead. Nothing is going to bring him back. So what difference does it really make?" Val said hopelessly letting the barriers she had been building for weeks slip just a little.

"It is too late for you to spend time with your father, Val. But it is not too late for you to get to know his memory. It's not too late for you to learn what type of person he was. If you do that you might better understand yourself." Tonks said almost in a pleading tone.

Val looked down again staring at her hands. The words sounded so wonderful. The idea of knowing her father was so very tempting. "And to do that, I would have to …" She began but the words faded.

"Trust those that loved him the most. Get to know Remus Lupin. He and your father were closer than brothers. I will certainly tell you anything I know about my cousin, though it is not very much. I was never able to spend much time with him. And then there is Harry." Tonks paused her words as she saw Val wince at the name. "Val, don't be angry at Harry. He and your father needed each other when it seemed as if they had no one else."

"I don't want to be angry at Harry. He means so much to me. I love spending time with him." Val said shakily. "I just don't understand how fate would be so cruel as to not let me have even one moment with my father, but allow Harry to see him as a second father."

Tonks sat staring for a moment and then decided to try a different tactic. Maybe a different viewpoint would help. "Val, how many years did you have with your mother before she died?"

Val was surprised at the question, but answered anyway. "Five years."

"Do you have many memories of her?" Tonks asked.

"Not as many as I'd like, but yes. She was a wonderful woman." Val smiled.

"Val, Harry has only one memory of his parents. He was just a baby when they were killed. Do you know what that memory is?" Tonks asked and her voice turned sad. She had discussed the matter with Remus, and she could imagine no worse memory.

"No." Val said quietly feeling the change in Tonks demeanor.

"He remembers his parent's deaths. He remembers his mother's screams as You-Know-Who killed her." Tonks said quietly.

Val had not known. She knew that Harry was just a baby when they died, but she never imagined that he would remember such a horrifying event. She swallowed hard feeling very ashamed of herself for some reason.

"So, do you begrudge him the year and a half that he borrowed your father, now? Do you begrudge him the small amount of happiness he was able to gain from that time?" Tonks asked.

Val started to slowly shake her head. She had never had a wonderful family life with the Malfoy's, but she did know what it was like to feel loved. She had her mother for five years, and Draco whenever they were allowed to be together. No she did not begrudge him. He deserved that happiness, and he deserved a lot better than what she had been doing. "I've been stupid and selfish." She whispered.

"Yes you have, but it is never too late to change that." Tonks said reaching over and taking Val's hand.

"Thanks, Tonks." She whispered looking into the older woman's eyes.

"Do you think I'm done with you?" Tonks asked with a mischievous look on her face.

Val looked at her and saw that look, feeling as if she was in for something not so pleasant. "I guess not."

"No. I am not." Tonks said smiling yet again. "It seems that there is another young man in this school, whom you are avoiding, but I know you don't want to." Val began to interrupt her, but Tonks cut her off. "I have seen you two pass each other in the halls. Both of you are dying to speak, but neither one will admit it."

"Tonks, Draco.." Val felt her throat immediately swell as the tears she thought she had gotten out of her system threatened to overwhelm her again. "He's a Malfoy." Was all she could say.

"Yes and until about two months ago, so were you. What difference does that make? Does the fact that you aren't one negate all the times you two spent together as children? Does it stop you from caring for him? Does it stop your heart from beating?" Tonks said firmly not letting Val pull her hand away.

"It changes everything." Val said bitterly.

"So you're not as closely related to him as you first thought. So what. Blood doesn't mean anything when it comes to the heart." Tonks insisted.

Val thought about her words. She was caught off guard by the way she had said that. "What do you mean 'not as closely related as I first thought'?"

"Well you aren't brother and sister, but you are still related." Tonks said offhandedly.

"How?" Val asked in confusion.

"Well if you must know, Draco is my first cousin. Narcissa was my Aunt, even though I was never accepted in the family since my dad was a muggle. Narcissa was Sirius' first cousin, so that makes you just as related to him as you are me." Tonks explained. "But you're still not understanding me. That doesn't matter at all. What matters is how you two feel about each other. This is where it counts." With those words Tonks reached out and touched Val's chest where her heart would be.

Val thought for a moment about all the wonderful times she and Draco had shared when they were younger. She also remembered sitting with him in the owlry stargazing. Some of the happiest times she had ever spent were with him. She had been attempting to forget all of those times, to block them out, as if they never occurred, but that was impossible. They were right below the surface of her heart. "How do I fix what is between us?" She asked closing her eyes as the tears started trickling down her cheeks yet again.

"Just talk to him. Talk to both of them, before you lose them forever." Tonks said squeezing her hand.

Val had a free period for the next period, and she knew Harry and Ron also had that period free. The weather was beginning to improve and when she did not find them in the common room she decided to check outside.

When she found them they were lounging by the lake. She could see that they were deep in discussion and did not hear her approaching.

"Just tell her to stop being such a git." Ron suggested.

"I can't call her a git, Ron. This is Val we are talking about." Harry said tossing a rock into the lake.

"Well she's not acting like the Val we used to know." Ron said pointedly.

"That doesn't matter, Ron. She's been through hell this year. I'm not going to start calling her names." Harry said emphatically.

Val stood behind them listening to the conversation. She wondered how Harry could defend her after how badly she had treated him. "Why not? She deserves to be called much worse than a git." She piped up.

Harry and Ron turned in surprise to see Val standing behind them with her hands shoved in her pockets, and a wry smile pasted on her face.

"Val. I'm sorry. We didn't mean anything bad.." Harry started to say but she interrupted him.

"Yes you did." She said but then a true smile covered her face. "But I deserve every word of it, and more."

Ron's mouth dropped open, as she seemed to have changed completely over night. Val walked forward and sat in between them. "I'm sorry, I've been so horrible." She said staring off into the lake.

"Hey, its okay." Ron said sitting up. "You had your reasons."

Val turned to him. "I may have had my reasons, but they sure weren't valid ones. If you see Hermione before I do, tell her I'm sorry, okay Ron?"

"I can do that. As a matter of fact, she's about to get out of Arithmancy. I think I'll go walk her to lunch." Ron said standing. Val had turned back to staring at the lake so he gave Harry a wink before he left. Harry just smiled.

After Ron was gone Val sighed heavily. "I owe you more of an apology than I think is possible, Harry." She said not looking away from the lake.

"I don't want an apology, Val." Harry said simply.

Val heard the words and her heart sunk. What would she do if he refused to forgive her? "I really wish you would, Harry."

Harry reached out placing his hand on her chin pulling her face around to look at his. "I don't need one, Val. I knew things might go bad when we talked about Sirius. I just had hoped they wouldn't go as bad as they did." He said hoping his words wouldn't remind her of the bad feelings.

"I have to say it anyway, Harry. I acted selfishly. I'm over that. I won't do it again. I don't want to lose you." She whispered.

"I'm right here, Val. I'm not leaving you." He assured her lightly stroking her cheek with his thumb.

Val stared into his eyes, not understanding the emotions that his touch was eliciting from her. She had never felt so confused. She felt her heart swelling in happiness when he vowed not to leave her. But she felt an uncomfortable queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, and a cold chill was running up her spine.

He could see the confusion in her emerald green eyes and it was matched in his own eyes that were just a few shades lighter than hers. He too felt something that he had never felt before while touching her. But he knew what the feeling was. It was similar to the feeling he had felt while looking at Cho two years before, but much more intense. He knew he should pull back, but she was so close. He leaned in closer to her and let his lips lightly fall on hers.

Val had never imagined that Harry would kiss her, but when his lips touched hers the queasy feeling in her stomach turned to a fluttering sensation and the cold that had raced up her spine turned to extreme molten heat. Nothing she had ever experienced before had prepared her for that first kiss, but somehow she instinctively knew how to respond, returning his kiss. It wasn't a kiss of passion, but more one of tentative exploration.

When they pulled their mouths apart Harry swallowed hard and Val licked her lips, but their eyes stayed firmly locked on each other. They were only a few inches apart and Harry's hand still touched Val's face. She reached up and placed her hand upon his. "Harry, what are we doing?" She asked stroking his hand.

"I'm not exactly sure, Val. But whatever this is, I think maybe we should take it slow." He said staring at her full lips tempted to kiss her again, but resisting.

She looked into his eyes and felt a small amount of disappointment at his words, but knew he was right. This was all so new to her, and she was completely confused by her own feelings. "Your right." She said standing abruptly, but not letting go of his hand. "We need to get up to the Great Hall, before Ron eats everything." She said smiling.

He stood next to her, but didn't let go of her hand either. They walked back to the castle hand in hand, and maybe a little closer together than they normally would have.

_

* * *

Author's Note: Well this is the beginning of the mild Harry/Val pairing that I mentioned in the first chapter. What do you guys think of them together? I promise this is not going to turn into a mushy lovey dovey story similar to HBP. My main interest is still in the secrets and mysteries that I have set up. But they were so close that it eventually would have happened._


	22. Denial

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Nope. Nope. Nope.**

**Denial**

No matter how many times Val tried to speak to Draco over the next few weeks, she was never able to do so. He rarely ate in the Great Hall. She had visited the owlry many times but hadn't met up with him. He had apparently stopped spending time there. But the few times she had glimpsed him in the halls she was pleased to see that he no longer sported bruises. Apparently the Slytherins, who had been after him, had given up on their sport. But she was never able to catch up with him and it frustrated her.

She was also frustrated by the situation with Harry. They were never alone, and she didn't wish to discuss their feelings in the open with everyone else listening, so she had bided her time patiently. But her dreams had started to become filled with a dark haired young man who knew exactly how to elicit reactions from her that she didn't even know she was capable of. The dreams had led to many restless nights.

Val stared at her breakfast but didn't have the energy to pick up her fork. It had been another night of tossing and turning as sleep was elusive and when it had finally come she had had dreams that would make her blush if she even thought of looking up and across the table at Harry. So she didn't look up. She was half-heartedly listening to Hermione rambling on beside her. She barely noticed as the morning mail was delivered as she finally picked up her fork and started pushing her eggs around the plate.

The only thing that caught her attention was the slight gasp that Hermione gave beside her after opening her copy of the Daily Prophet. But she was used to Hermione exclaiming over this and that, so she paid it little heed. But she did notice as the table around her became very quite and she could hear whispering everywhere else in the Hall. She looked up to see several eyes upon her and Hermione was holding the paper out towards her. "Val. You need to see this."

Val reached out and took the paper. She looked at the front page and there was the smiling face of Lucius Malfoy on the front page. The Headline said in large letters "Famed Death Eater Escapes Azkaban". Val didn't read the rest of the article, but instead stared at the picture. Those cold blue eyes that she remembered so well seemed to penetrate her very soul. She could see the malicious intent they held, which was often confused for healthy ambition. But she knew better.

"What do you want to do, Val?" Hermione asked.

"What do you mean, 'Mione?" Val asked folding the paper again and handing it back to her.

"Don't you think you should talk to Dumbledore, or something?" She asked.

"About what?" Val asked picking up her fork and taking a bite of the cold eggs.

"Aren't you afraid of him? I mean. You said he has always hated you. Do you think he'd try to hurt you?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not that important to Lucius Malfoy, 'Mione. He doesn't care if I even exist. More than likely he is looking for a place to hide from Voldemort." There were several hisses around the table at her mention of the 'name that must not be mentioned'. "If anyone should be worried it should be Harry." She said finally looking at him. The mention of Lucius Malfoy had cooled her burning desires and now she had other worries on her mind.

He looked back at her and she could see that his resolve not to let this news upset him was just as strong as her own. "Hogwarts is still the safest place on earth." Harry said smiling. "Lucius won't show up here."

Hermione and Ron both stared at each other sharing the same thought. These two were off their rockers.

* * *

One student in the castle took the news of the Death Eater's escape hard, though. Draco sat in the Slytherin common room staring at his copy of the Prophet. He had been doing that off and on all day. Every free period he had was spent reading and rereading the front-page article. It was now becoming very late at night, and he was the only one left in the common room.

He had never imagined that his father would actually be able to pull it off. He had said he was working on something to help his family regain their proper place in the wizarding world, but Draco had thought he was just saying those words to give his son hope.

But hope was the last thing the article had instilled in Draco. He knew he should be happy that his father was no longer in Azkaban. It was a dreadful place for any wizard to end up in. But in Azkaban his father was safe from Lord Voldemort. And if he admitted it to himself, in Azkaban his father had no control over him, and he had rather liked the feeling of independence he felt without him.

After reading the paper for the fourth time since sitting down he threw it into the fireplace and watched as the flames licked at its edges. He could see every word curling in upon it self as if it never existed to begin with, until finally the only thing left was the face of his father staring back at him. But that face did not disappear, but changed instead. Draco watched as the green flames took the form of a human face. His father's face. "What the hell?" Draco said coming up out of his seat and moving behind the chair.

The face of Lucius Malfoy in the fire gave a reproachful look. "Get a hold of yourself, boy. Is that any way for a Malfoy to act?"

Draco immediately stood a little straighter. "Sorry, Father. You just surprised me."

"That's better. You should have known I would find a way to contact you." Lucius said sneering at his son slightly. "Anyway. I don't have long. You need to listen to me, and listen well."

Draco moved back around the chair drawing closer to the flames. He did not answer his father.

"In the next few weeks I want you to watch Potter. If he leaves the school for any reason, follow him." Lucius said with an intense look upon his face.

"Father, what have you got planned for Potter?" Draco asked with a small frown on his face.

"What does that matter? I am telling you to do this, and I expect you to do it." Lucius said angrily.

"Father, pardon my bluntness, but don't you think it would be wiser for you to find a safe place to hide from Lord Voldemort, than planning some kind of revenge against Harry?" Draco said knowing his father would not like it.

Lucius' face curled up into a large snarl. "Is it Harry now? Have my spies not reported everything to me? Since when is it not your first priority to gain revenge on Potter?" His voice rose in strength and Draco looked around making sure no one was coming down the stairs. When he was sure the angry outburst had not been heard he turned back to the angry face.

He stared for a moment weighing his words. "Father, Voldemort has been foiled time and time again by Potter. You always said to stick with the winning side. I'm tired of this war. I'm tired of the fighting. I'm tired of fearing death from failure. I'm just tired." Draco finally said sinking back into the chair in front of the fire.

Lucius looked as if he would shout again, but Draco did not care. But then the angry look on Lucius' face faded and turned into an amused sneer. "Draco. Failure is death. But not to fail can gain you more than your heart's desires. And remember one thing my son. You are not the only Slytherin at Hogwarts, and some are actually still loyal to me."

Lucius began to fade but Draco had just thought of something that had disturbed him. "Wait, Father." He called out and the face remained with a quizzical look. "If you still have loyal followers here then tell me who tried to kill Valissa?"

The face smiled a true smile for the first time since appearing. "Unfortunate circumstances, weren't those?" It said with a knowing look.

"Did you have something to do with it?" Draco asked sitting forward as the anger built inside him.

"No. I really hadn't thought of her since I had that journal sent to you. By the way, I heard you used it well." Lucius said in a casual voice.

"Who tried to kill her?" Draco asked ignoring his father's comment.

"Son, she is not your family, and the sooner you accept that fact the happier you will be." Lucius said in a cold voice of steel, and then the face faded out of existence leaving Draco with just as many questions as before he had spoken to the man.

He sat for many long hours thinking about his father's words. He was not sure what course of action he should take. If he warned Dumbledore or Snape would they believe him? Would they believe that he would betray his father?

Then again could he betray his father? That was a difficult question. If the Aurors were to find his father he might be killed. He was living with the fact that his mother had died because of his inability to kill. Could he live with his father's blood on his hands also?

But what of Val? His father had not made any comments that would make him think she was in danger. But what would her reaction be if something happened to her precious Harry? Would she blame him? Would she hate him even more than she already did?

He finally decided that there were too many questions, and not enough answers. And without any sleep he could not make any decisions, so he trudged back up to his dorm room and fell into his bed. At that moment he fervently wished he had not given Helena's journal to Val. He could use a reassuring voice in the night, even if it was just written words.


	23. Interrupted

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**Interrupted**

For the next few weeks Draco spent most of his time either sitting alone thinking or lurking around the dungeons watching the other Slytherins in hopes of discovering who his father's spies were, but with no luck in doing so. He would think that he was going to overhear something when the others would notice him and that would be the last of the talking. None of the Slytherins, beside Pansy Parkinson, were speaking to him yet, and she was useless for information. But he hadn't even seen much of her either.

He knew he would eventually have to do something. Either go along with his father's plans or betray him. He knew what the Draco Malfoy his father had groomed to be a Slytherin Prince would have done. That Draco was evil to the core. He would have eagerly helped his father with his plans of revenge.

But was he still that Draco? Honestly he didn't believe so. He was the Draco who had been unable to kill Dumbledore. He was the Draco who cared very deeply for someone who would always be his sister, no matter what their blood ties revealed. And he was even the Draco who owed Harry Potter a little bit of respect. Hadn't Harry stopped the Slytherins from severely beating or killing him in the Room of Requirement? And hadn't Harry helped him to save Val from the fire? He didn't like Potter. But wasn't Potter the one who was supposed to kill Voldemort and end this war he was so tired of getting caught up in?

There was only one answer to all the questions running through his head. A resounding Yes!

He knew what he would have to do then. It was late though and it would have to wait until the next day. He couldn't tell Dumbledore or Snape about the visit from his father. That would be a blatant betrayal and something he was not quite capable of, yet. But if he spoke to Potter, and warned him to watch his back when it came to the other Slytherins, and possible warn him that Lucius had no intention of hiding from Voldemort, maybe it would be enough to foul his father's plans up. Just maybe. He could do the right thing by Potter and not have to do anything leading to his father's recapture. Yes, that is what he'd do. He'd talk to Potter before Potions class the next day.

* * *

Harry had made a decision. He truly had feelings for Val that went beyond those of friendship, but he had been reluctant to explore those feeling further because of his feelings of guilt concerning Sirius' death. He had felt a definite response from Val when they had kissed. He knew it was there, and he was sure she felt something more for him than friendship also, but could she still feel that way after she learned about her father's death?

These thoughts had drove him to do something that he knew would get them both expelled if they were caught. They had had a couple of weekends in Hogsmeade since the kiss, but they were never alone enough to have a private conversation. So he would have to do something drastic. He had asked Val to meet him in the common room at 3am. At that early hour they would have plenty of time to speak in private, but he didn't want to speak in the common room. It wasn't the right place for the discussion he wished to have. So when Val crept silently down the stairs from the girl's dormitory he was glad to see she was dressed warmly. The early mornings were still chilly on the grounds of Hogwarts.

Once in the corridor outside the common room he pulled out his invisibility cloak and placed his finger in front of his lips shushing her. He then wrapped the cloak around them both and they crept down the stairs in silence, until they were outside on the grounds.

After they were on the grounds Val asked what had been buzzing through her head since she had seen him pull out the cloak. "Where are we going, Harry?"

"We are going to visit some old ghosts." He said cryptically and then wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. He could feel her tense slightly under his arm, but was not sure if it was from his touch or the site of the Forest, which she was still terrified by. "Don't worry. We're not going in the Forest." He whispered in her ear. He had expected her to relax at his words but his hot breath on her neck and ear had had the opposite affect, and she shivered slightly. He held her tighter thinking she might be cold.

Val was going to go crazy if she didn't get away from him soon. She hadn't even thought about the Forest as she felt his arm around her waist, and his hot breath on her neck had caused a chill to run down her spine. She knew these were innocent gestures on his part but still they were about to undo her control.

She felt him pull her off in a direction away from the Forest though and could see the Whomping Willow ahead of them. She had heard stories about the huge belligerent tree, and had kept a safe distance from it at all times, but Harry was guiding them directly towards it. She could see Crookshanks, Hermione's cat sitting at the base of the tree, and was surprised the tree would allow the animal so near, but she guessed it was only interested in catching the occasional bird.

As they approached the tree Harry stopped them outside of its reach. Harry removed the cloak and crouched down so he could pet Crookshanks, who had approached them. "Hey there, Crookshanks. Do you think we could have a little help here?" He asked rubbing the cat's chin as it wound around his legs.

"Harry, what do you expect that cat to do?" Val asked wondering if Harry had lost his mind.

He just looked up to her with a bright smile on his face. "Watch."

Crookshanks accepted another few scratches around his ears and then walked back to the tree. He went to the place he had been standing before and seemed to raise up slightly off his front paws and then brought them down on a gnarled tree root. Val was amazed to see that the tree, which had been whipping its branches furiously towards them, now froze in mid swing. Her mouth dropped open and she looked amazed at Harry who walked over to the tree without any fear.

He turned back to her when he reached the tree and called out. "Well aren't you coming?"

Val walked forward cautiously looking into the branches above. When she reached where he stood she could see a crawlspace large enough for two people side by side to slip under one of the tree roots. Harry motioned to the root.

"We are going in there?" Val asked staring into the dark hole.

"Trust me. I've been through there before." Harry said grabbing her hand and pulling her down and into the crawlspace.

Val looked back out the open hole wondering if she should just back out, but something caught her eye shimmering in the moonlight. She nearly stopped Harry to point it out, but figured it was a figment of her overactive imagination, which was running away with her at the moment.

He used his wand to light the space ahead of them. They crawled for what seemed to Val like forever, but eventually they came to a trapdoor above them and Harry helped her out of the hole.

When they stood she could see that they were in some kind of house that was shabby and looked as if it was falling apart. She could see boards nailed over the windows leading to the outside world. And then it dawned on her where they must be. "The Shrieking Shack. But it's supposed to be haunted."

"It was haunted at one time. But not by ghosts." Harry smiled pulling her up the stairs.

Once they reached the landing above he found the room he was looking for and pulled her inside. Everything was the same as the last time he had been in the room. An old mattress was lying on the floor on one end, and he remembered seeing Ron sitting there holding Scabbers years before. But he couldn't think about the rat that really was Peter Pettigrew. This morning was about Sirius. "We need to have a long talk, Val. And I don't think you're going to like everything I have to say." Harry started motioning her to sit down on the mattress.

He sat beside her and pulled something out from his pocket and then spoke the words to an enlarging charm. The item grew to its original size and Val could see that it was a photo album.

Harry hadn't opened the album since the day Ron and Hermione had given it to him. He was coming to terms with his feelings of loss and anger, but the feelings of guilt were still there and he wondered if he would ever get past them. But he knew it was time to face them. He flipped the album from page to page. "This was a birthday gift from Ron and Hermione. I haven't been able to look at it since they gave it to me." He said finally reaching the last page. The picture of Sirius and him looked up to him. Sirius was laughing that unique laugh of his that was almost a bark.

Val looked at the picture and knew whom it was of. The only pictures she had ever seen of her father were the wanted posters from when he had escaped Azkaban. But the man in this picture looked happy, even if there was a haunted look to his eyes. She could see that Harry was laughing so hard that he had begun to choke in the picture and Sirius was slapping his back. She smiled at the picture. It looked like such a happy time.

Val looked around the room they were in. "Harry, I appreciate that you want to tell me about my father, but why are we here?"

"This place is a part of his past, Val." Harry said smiling. She frowned slightly not understanding so he went on. "Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and my father James Potter, were the best of friends here at Hogwarts. But one of them had a terrible secret. It's the reason why the Willow was planted and that tunnel was made. It's the reason why everyone thinks this place is so haunted." Harry paused for a moment. "Val, Remus is a werewolf. He was made one as a small child. This is where he would go during the full moon to keep himself from hurting anyone."

"And the noises everyone heard was him?" Val realized.

"At first yes. But eventually he was joined by others. When his three best friends learned of his affliction they decided to do something to help him. They became Animagus so they could be with him when he needed them the most." Harry said remembering when he was told the same story.

Val seemed shocked by the news. "My father was an Animagus. But the registry."

"An illegal Animagus. They all three were." Harry explained.

Val sat contemplating the news. She would have never guessed it. "What was his animal form?"

"That caused me quite a scare my third year here. Sirius was a large black dog, which looked exactly like the Grimm. And professor Trelawny was telling me at every turn that I would be dead before the end of the year. So you can imagine my reaction upon the first few occasions that I saw Sirius in his animal form before I knew it was him." Harry said shaking his head at how naïve he had been.

They sat for another two hours as Harry told Val about everything he knew about her father. Their times spent at Black Manor, about his friendship with James Potter, and how Peter Pettigrew had betrayed them all. He didn't want to leave anything out for her. She had to know it all. He even told her of how Lord Voldemort had come back and the death of Cedric Diggory. Then he told her of his fifth year at Hogwarts, and of the visions and blinding pain in his scar. But then he came to the story of the Dept. of Mysteries. His voice broke. It was the part of the story that he wasn't sure he could speak of.

Val hadn't said much during his stories, just asking a few questions. But she could see how much he was struggling. "And when you got there, did you find Sirius?" She asked.

Harry shook his head. "It was a trap. He never had Sirius to begin with." Harry said bitterly. "He wanted me there, because he wanted something from the Dept. that only I could get for him. A prophecy. Our prophecy. Voldemort's and mine. He tricked me, and when Sirius found out what was happening he came there to save me. And he died." Harry had looked away from her before he could say those words. He felt as if his heart was being ripped out all over again as he remembered watching Sirius fall through that curtain, not realizing at the time that he would never see him again.

"You saw him die?" Val asked in a shaky voice.

"I saw Bellatrix Lestrange curse him and then he fell through the archway in the Chamber of Death at the Ministry. I didn't find out until afterwards that that archway lead to death and no one ever came back through. I didn't want to believe it." He turned back to her but still couldn't look her in the eyes.

"Val, if I hadn't been so naïve Voldemort would not have fooled me, and your father would still be alive. I blame myself for his death, and I don't blame you if you do too. And I won't blame you if you hate me for it." He said finally closing the album that had been sitting on his lap.

Val looked at his bowed head that was staring at the mattress between them. She could just barely see his scar through the unruly dark curls that fell over his forehead. She was angry. She was very angry.

"Harry, right now I feel hate more than you can ever imagine, but then again you probably can imagine." She started and could see him flinch at the bitterness of her words. But she reached out placing a hand under his chin and pulling his face up so she could look into his eyes. "I hate Lord Voldemort, Harry. I hate Bellatrix Lestrange. I even hate Peter Pettigrew. I hate all the Death Eaters." She punctuated every word in her anger but then her voice softened. "But I don't hate you. I can't hate someone who I love."

Harry stared into her emerald eyes and couldn't believe that she would say those words. "But. It's my fault." He whispered.

"Harry, it's no more your fault than it is Sirius'. He did what he had to, to save you. Just as you thought you were doing for him. He let his heart guide him, just as you did. You have a wonderful heart with a huge capacity for love, Harry. And now I must do as both of you did and follow my heart." She said letting a small smile fall upon her lips.

Harry also smiled feeling the guilt slip slightly away from him. It was still there, but was not as strong, and for the first time when he thought of his Godfather he didn't feel like his heart was being gripped so tightly. "You love me?" He asked in a rather incredulous tone.

"Yes. I do." She admitted then waited nervously for his reaction. Her hand had slipped down to rest upon his chest as they spoke and she could feel his heartbeat below her fingertips. She imagined the beat had sped up at her words.

"I never imagined you would love me." He whispered. "I had barely dared to hope, but had never let myself imagine it was so."

"Harry, if you don't love me, you don't have to say it." She said panicking for a moment. What if she had been wrong to think that he felt the same as she did?

Harry truly smiled as he placed one hand over her hand still resting on his chest. She had begun to pull it away but he trapped it there. "No, it belongs there." He whispered. "For my heart belongs to you. It always will. You hold it in the palm of your hand."

Val felt her heart soar at his words. She knew then what she was always missing. He completed her.

Harry pulled her closer as they kissed again, but this time it was a deeper and more passionate kiss, a kiss that he wished to go on forever.

"My, my this isn't exactly what I pictured I'd see when I finally found you again, Potter." A cynically amused voice spoke from the doorway.

Harry just had enough time to turn away from Val and seize his own wand when he heard the petrifying spell. "Petrificus Totalus,Petrificus Totalus" It was used twice to freeze both of them in their places. Harry wanted to scream in rage as the leering face of Lucius Malfoy appeared above where his body had gone rigid. "Ah, Potter, I've never seen you quite so distracted, but I can understand." Then his face turned to Val who was rigid beside him. "And you. Well I should have known you'd be just as much a slut as your mother was." He kicked at her and Harry could hear the impact of his foot on her side. He wanted so badly to attack the evil Wizard, but could not even use his voice to scream out the rage he felt deep inside.


	24. Three Gone

**Disclaimer: **Not Mine

**Three Gone**

Draco had not been able to sleep well that night, so he rose long before morning light. He had decided to make his way to the Gryffindor area and wait outside their common room for Potter to turn up for breakfast. He knew there was a possibility that he'd run into Val too, but he was willing to risk it. He had to talk to Potter before he lost his nerve and just did nothing. But as he ascended the stairs leading up from his dorm room and into the common room he was surprised to see several Slytherins already there. He immediately froze as his hand grasped his wand. But the Slytherins were not making any threatening moves. As a matter of fact they were just lounging around on the couches. Pansy Parkinson was standing near the fire staring into it intently.

Draco looked around the room but the others seemed to ignore him. "Pansy, what's going on here?" He asked suspiciously approaching her.

"I'm not sure, Draco. There was a lot of commotion earlier in the hall. Something about a student being missing." Pansy said shrugging. "It woke several of us up. We're just waiting around until breakfast starts."

Draco had never had any cause to not trust Pansy. She had been just as devoted to him as Crabbe and Goyle had. He took another skeptical look around at the other students who were chatting amicably with each other.

He decided it would be best to just leave while he had the chance. He left through the portrait hole and headed through the deserted corridors. He had almost made his way to the Gryffindor section when he was walking along the seventh floor corridor. "Draco, can we talk in private." Pansy called out from a few feet behind him. He turned to see her standing there.

He was sure he hadn't been followed. He had looked behind several times. "I didn't see you following me." He said frowning.

"You must have been preoccupied." She suggested and then stepped within a few inches of where he stood. "Where are you going, Draco?" She asked sweetly.

"I don't see where that's any of your business." He said with a slight bit of anger tingeing his voice.

"Draco, you are playing with fire." She whispered.

"What are you talking about, Pansy?" He said but then a suspicion began to form in his mind as the smirk spread across her face.

"He won't be happy with you." She whispered yet again.

"You. You've been spying on me for him, haven't you?" He asked the anger boiling inside him. "That's the reason you still talked with me when everyone else wouldn't."

"Now, Draco. You know the way I feel for you." Pansy said moving closer to him and running her hand down his chest. "And your father is just concerned about some of your decisions."

Draco immediately pushed her hand away. "Don't touch me. Don't every touch me." He said in outright rage.

Pansy made a small clucking noise with her tongue and turned away. "Have it your way then." She said coldly. At that moment something hard slammed into the back of his head, and he knew nothing but darkness afterwards.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked Ron as some of the other students stood after finishing breakfast as she stared into Harry and Val's empty seats.

"I don't know. He said they'd be back for breakfast." Ron said not even bothering to eat the food in front of him.

"And he didn't say where they were going?" Hermione asked for the fourth time.

"No. Just that he needed to talk to Val in private, and he couldn't find any better time than real early morning." Ron answered her again. He was trying to assure Hermione, but he had awoken with a bad feeling when Harry hadn't been in his own bed. And that feeling hadn't gotten any better since. He knew Harry would never consider skipping Potions, and time before class was running out. Snape would have his hide.

"Let's just go to class. If Harry is not there, we'll have to do something." Hermione suggested.

They waited in the classroom staring at the door. It was a small class and everyone was there except Harry and Draco. The fact that Draco wasn't there also worried Ron and Hermione. Ron began to wonder if Harry and Draco had finally decided to finish the duel they had started a couple of months before.

Professor Snape entered the classroom and noticed the fact that the students didn't immediately become quite as they usually did. One eyebrow rose in puzzlement. "Silence." He said icily and then stared around the classroom. He immediately noticed Draco's absence. He looked at the closest Slytherin. "Where is Mr. Malfoy?" He asked angrily.

The Slytherin seemed to swallow hard and shook his head. "I..I don't know sir."

Snape immediately turned to the other side of the room meaning to ask Potter, who seemed to know too much about where the Slytherin was at all times, but his eyebrow rose in even more puzzlement at Harry's empty seat. "Weasley. Where is Potter?"

Ron looked to Hermione. Normally he would make something up to cover for Harry but Hermione shook her head violently. Both of them felt that something was very wrong about his disappearance. He swallowed hard. "I don't know, Professor." Ron said miserably.

"Is he not your dorm-mate?" Snape asked coldly. "Didn't you see him this morning?"

"No sir. He was gone when I woke. He told me last night that he might be, but that he'd meet me at breakfast." Ron mumbled.

"They never showed up for breakfast." Hermione interrupted.

"Five points from Gryffindor." Snape said rolling his eyes and then turning to Hermione. "For speaking out of turn, Ms. Granger." Then he fixed her with his black eyes. "You said they. I'm assuming the other half of that they is Ms. Malfoy."

"Yes, Professor." Hermione said realizing her slip of tongue too late.

Snape nodded once. "Class your assignment is on the board. Ms. Granger. Mr. Weasley. Follow me." He said walking out the classroom door.

Severus Snape normally would not give a damn if Potter had fallen from the face of the earth, but with the disappearance of both Val and Draco too he thought it warranted a visit to Dumbledore. He vowed that if the two stupid boys were just off somewhere dueling over that silly girl, he would personally hex all three of them.

When they arrived at Dumbledore's office Professor McGonagall was already there. Val was in her first hour Transfiguration class. Albus welcomed the two students and Professor into the office.

Professor McGonagall spoke up immediately. "Do you two know where Ms. Malfoy is?"

But before they could speak Snape spoke up. "I've already asked them that. It seems Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy are also missing."

Minerva's eyes widened at the statement. "Do you think they are off somewhere together?"

"If it was just Mr. Potter and the girl maybe, or even Mr. Malfoy and the girl. But Potter and Draco together, no that is not possible." Snape said thoughtfully then added. "Unless they are dueling."

"Harry wouldn't do that." Hermione spoke up. "He knows how hard that would be for Val."

Albus had been listening to the conversation in complete silence. "Mr. Weasley do you know why Mr. Potter and Ms. Malfoy disappeared? He is your best friend. Surely he told you something."

"He just wanted to talk to Val alone, about Sirius." Ron explained. "They never get to talk alone. There were lots of things he wanted to tell her."

"Well there are only a few places on Hogwarts grounds that they could be alone. Mr. Weasley, do me a service and run up to your dorm. Fetch me Harry's map." Dumbledore said smiling at Ron's surprised look. "Yes we all know about Harry's map. I have borrowed it before, Mr. Weasley."

Hermione didn't necessarily enjoy the thought of being alone with the three adults. McGonagall was whispering nervously with Dumbledore, and Snape was standing next to the wall sneering at them all. But something McGonagall said caught her attention, and she moved closer to them but looked at the pictures on the wall so as not to seem to be eavesdropping.

"Albus, do you think the rumors are true?" Minerva whispered. "Could Lucius Malfoy be hiding somewhere in this area?"

"There is a possibility. That is why we cancelled all of the remaining Hogsmeade trips. But it would be foolish of him to attempt to take students from Hogwarts. You and I both know that." Dumbledore tried to assure her.

Severus had heard the other two Professor's words and the look on his face became slightly more serious. His anger at Lucius Malfoy had increased more and more every time he saw Val in the hallways. She reminded him too much of Helena. He had spent so much time with Helena, and it never really mattered that she did not share his feelings for her. He had always felt that instinctive urge to protect her even if she did not love him in return. Val had brought all those old feelings to the surface. But the strongest feeling was rage at Lucius for killing her. He had no proof, but he knew Helena had not died naturally. But now Lucius might be lurking around Hogsmeade, and Draco was missing. Draco was the one person he had to protect now. That damn Vow had assured him of that.

When Ron stepped back into the office he was holding the map with a worried look on his face. He immediately handed it to Dumbledore, but then slumped into a chair. "It's no good looking at it. They aren't on it. I looked. Neither is Draco."

Albus looked the map over and agreed silently with Ron, nodding his head.

"Well it's obvious where they are then isn't it?" Hermione said walking towards the door. Snape who was standing next to the door stuck his hand out to block her way.

"Explain yourself, Ms. Granger." He said coldly.

Hermione looked at the Professor, and then turned to look at the others. Was it possible that they had not come to the same conclusion she had? "Why the Room of Requirement of course. Apparently Harry has taken Val to the hidden room so they could travel through the cupboard."

Dumbledore had told the other two members of the Order about the cupboard, so they knew exactly what she spoke of. "Ms. Granger you might very well be right. Give me a moment and I can verify your supposition. If that is the case, we have very little to worry about."

"Very little to worry about. Yeah, right. You are forgetting one thing. If that is the case Draco Malfoy now knows about the Order headquarters." Ron mumbled, but none of them missed his words.

"Even though Mr. Weasley has his objections for a different reason than I, it is very unlikely that Mr. Malfoy is with them at Black Manor. I do not believe that Potter would willingly take him there." Severus commented.

Albus walked to his fire and activated the floo system requesting a conversation with Remus Lupin. After a few moments the face of Lupin appeared in the fire. "Albus, you don't very often contact me. Is there something I can be of assistance with?"

Albus looked around the room knowing immediately that they had their answer. "Remus, we are looking for Harry. He, Valissa Malfoy, and Draco Malfoy have all gone missing."

The pleasant look on Remus' face immediately turned to one of worry. "I tried to use the cupboard this morning, but could not get through. The door would not open. As you know I have been studying the item in hopes of discovering its exact properties. I wasn't completely sure why it would not let me in. I will go directly and see if I can try it again."

"Please do that, Remus. We will try the room from this side, plus I will send people into the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade to search. Stay there until I contact you." Albus said and turned before Remus had completely disappeared. "Minerva, would you please go visit Hagrid. Ask him to search the Forest. And have Argus check Hogsmeade for us."

"Of course." Professor McGonagall said sweeping from the room.

"Ms. Granger. Mr. Weasley. Please go and collect Professor Tonks. She might be of use." Albus requested turning to the Ron and Hermione.

"Yes, Sir." Hermione said grasping Ron's hand and pulling him from the room.

"Now, Severus. I believe we will go with haste to the Seventh Floor." Dumbledore said leading the way out of the room.


	25. Pain

**Disclaimer: **See Chapter 1

**Pain**

The last thing he remembered was a whispered word that he could barely make out and now as his blurry vision showed him very little more than darkness, Harry sat up and started feeling around the floor for his glasses. His hand landed instead on something soft and warm.

"Val." He whispered her name.

A soft groan escaped her lips telling him that she was still alive. "Harry."

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

"I don't think so." She whispered and then sat up shaking her head. She looked around the room. They were in what looked like a dungeon. Most of the room was empty, except for chains hanging from the walls and what looked like a muggle examination table. There were six wall sconces with torches in them, but only one of them was lit. The ceilings were very high and there were two doors leading out of the room on opposite sides. But the doors were six foot from the floor with stone steps leading up to them. She looked to Harry and besides for a few scratches he looked whole. But something was missing. "Your glasses." She felt around the floor until her hands came across them under her left leg. Apparently she had landed on them when they were dumped there. She lifted them up to see that one lens was broken. "Sorry." She said handing them to him.

He nodded and put them back on his face. "I'm used to it." If their wands had not been taken from them he could have fixed them easily.

"Where do you think we are?" Harry wondered after standing and walking around the room examining the muggle table, wall chains and shackles.

"I think I know. But I never really believed it existed." Val said frowning. She had not stood. She knew it would be impossible to escape the place she was thinking of. The only thing keeping them alive at that time was the fact that Lucius wanted them that way. The wards placed on the place she was thinking of were designed to kill anyone other than true Slytherins or Death Eaters upon entry unless disabled first.

Harry looked around at the bitter tone her voice held, but waited for her to say more.

"It has many names. But from what I've heard those that know it the best call it The Secret House of the Serpent." Val said shuddering slightly. She had heard stories of the things that Death Eaters had done to Muggles and those that were not pure blooded in the Manor. She had never believed in its existence. She hadn't wanted to.

Harry looked at her recognizing the name from Regulus' journal. "But Voldemort surely knows of this place. How can Malfoy bring us here?"

"That's a good question, Potter." A voice spoke up from one of the doorways. They both turned towards the voice. Lucius Malfoy was standing inside one of the doors on the landing at the top of the steps. He leaned on the railing in front of him with his wand grasped in one hand. He had a triumphant look on his face.

Harry wanted to rush the wizard but knew without his wand he had no chance of ever overpowering him. "If it's such a good question, why don't you answer it?"

Lucius smiled at Harry's insolence. He would soon change the young man's attitude. "Well I'm afraid the rumor that I am completely in the bad graces of the Dark Lord, is a slight exaggeration. He has given me a task to perform, and then I will be brought back into the fold and his good graces."

"Judging by the smile on your face, I guess the task is an agreeable one to you." Harry said knowing that could only mean horrible things for them.

"Very much so. And there's no better time than the present to get started." Lucius said with an evil glint in his eyes.

Harry moved back a few paces closing his eyes expecting to be hit by the Cruciatus curse immediately. But when the word was said he did not feel the pain. "Crucio."

Harry looked in horror toward Val as she writhed in pain on the floor. A bright blue light had enveloped her coming from Lucius' wand. Harry could see the look of glee in the wizard's eyes as Val's screams echoed throughout the room.

Harry ran towards Val as the blue light died and her screams ended. He kneeled next to her and could see how difficult it was for her to breath as her breaths came in large gulps mixed with sobs of pain. Harry faced Lucius. "What are you doing? She has nothing to do with Voldemort."

"I'm just assuring your compliance." Lucius said starting down the steps. "Oh, I know that the Imperius curse has no affect on you. So other forms of persuasion will be necessary."

Harry looked at Lucius realizing what his words meant. "And if I refuse?"

"Crucio." Lucius called out pointing his wand at Val yet again.

Val screamed again in utter agony as her body bowed unnaturally attempting to fend off the pain. Harry reached out grabbing her shoulders in an attempt to do anything. He immediately felt the pain and agony soar through his own body, but only for a moment, as the curse ended. He had doubled over in pain cringing at the after effects of the curse.

After Harry was able to sit up again he stared in extreme anger at Malfoy. "Stop this. She is innocent in this war." He demanded gritting his teeth.

"If you do as I say, and obey, she will be spared any form of physical pain." Lucius smiled sweetly.

Harry knew if it was just himself in that room he would never give in to any of Malfoy's demands, but he could not stand by and watch as Val was tortured before his very eyes. "What do you want?" Harry said bitterly.

Val was regaining her senses as the conversation continued. "No, Harry. Don't give in to him." She whispered.

Harry ignored her soft pleas standing and waited for Lucius to explain what he wanted.

* * *

The last thing he remembered was talking to her in the seventh floor corridor. Then the world had gone black for Draco Malfoy. He could hear whispers as he came around, and it seemed as if the world was spinning as he opened his eyes.

"We are not supposed to hurt him." Pansy said in a harsh whisper.

"How did you expect me to get him in here? Invite him graciously." Meggit the largest of all the Slytherin students said as he lounged against a wall on the far side of the room.

"And what is all this?" Pansy said a little louder as her hand motioned to the room around them. It seemed as if they were in a dungeon of sorts with various torture devices hanging from the walls around them.

"Fear, Pansy Dearest." Meggit said a large smile spreading across his face. Then his attention was drawn by Draco's movements, which were making the chains he was hung from rattle. "He's awake."

Pansy turned to Draco and smiled broadly. "Sorry for the horrible accommodations, Draco, but they were the best we could do for now."

Draco wanted to groan from the pain in his arms, which were chained to the wall above him. He had been hanging unconscious and the strain on his muscles had taken a toll. Not to mention the splitting pain in the back of his head where he assumed Meggit had hit him earlier. He looked around the room, which he did not recognize as one of the dungeon rooms of Hogwarts School. And he had explored the entire dungeon area in his seven years at the school.

"I have to get to classes. Are you sure your teachers won't notice that you are missing?" Pansy asked in a worried tone.

"I just have Flitwick and Binns today. Flitwick lets us get away with anything, and Binns has been dead for so long that he wouldn't know if I was there or not." Meggit assured her.

"All right. Remember he is not to be hurt. Just kept out of the way for a day or so." Pansy warned.

Pansy slipped from the room and Draco caught site of a very familiar drapery outside the door. No wonder he did not recognize the dungeon room. He wasn't in the dungeon at all, but in the Room of Requirement. "So, Meggit, what did you ask the room for before entering?"

Meggit smiled a devious smile letting Draco know that he had no intention of following what Pansy had said. "Isn't it obvious? Don't you like the décor? I figured you being the son of a high ranking Death Eater would feel quite at home in this atmosphere."

Draco had found some of his strength and had stood straight letting some of the tension off of his arms. Meggit walked closer to Draco. He was within a foot of him when he stopped. "You're not answering."

"Oh, I do feel at home, but I'm not much on small talk." Draco said sarcastically.

"No small talk huh, well that's fine too." Meggit said reaching out and grabbing the tie that was tied loosely around Draco's neck and yanking him forward so his face was next to Draco's ear. "My parents were hurt in that raid on the Death Eaters, you prick." He whispered.

When Meggit let go Draco's head snapped back and hit the wall behind him. He could see stars for a moment and then shaking his head to clear it some, looked to the larger boy. "Well I guess they should pick the company they keep a little more wisely then, shouldn't they?" These words gained him a fist in the stomach.

As the air left his lungs Draco wondered if he should have opted for the small talk option. Meggit immediately followed the punch with an uppercut to the chin, which made the stars dance before his eyes again. After that Meggit slunk back watching the dazed young man.

After a few moments Draco was able to look at Meggit again. He gave him what he thought was a piercing glare.

"Still think your better than me don't you, Malfoy?" Meggit gloated.

"I'm not attacking an unarmed man who's chained to a wall, am I?" Draco said his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"And why should that make any difference to me?" Meggit laughed.

"To you it wouldn't." Draco scowled. "By the way, how did you ever sneak up on me in the corridor?"

"Your wonderful father was so kind as to provide Pansy with an invisibility cloak. She has been spying on you, Potter, and your so called sister for months now." Meggit said gleefully. He enjoyed knowing things that Draco did not and wanted to brag about it.

"Hmm. That explains a lot." Draco said as the wheels started turning in his head.

"But what difference does that make?" Meggit said walking forward again. Draco watched him cautiously wondering where the next blow would land. But Meggit surprised him as he reached out to the side pulling an unlit torch from a wall scone. "You know, the Death Eaters have their own specific jobs to do for our cause. Not all of them can be as special as your father, just walking around and looking important. Some of them actually have work to do. My parents specialized in Muggle Studies. But not the kind of Muggle Studies that the Ministry does. They study the Muggle's barbaric torture methods. Honestly from what I've learned I rather prefer some of those over the magic forms of torture." Meggit said smiling so enjoyably.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Draco said more to himself than Meggit.

"It shouldn't." Meggit snarled and then swung the torch low landing it against Draco's upper leg.

Draco screamed as the unexpected pain knocked his legs out from under him and his full weight pulled down again on his arms.

"Hurts a little don't it, Pretty Boy?" Meggit said gleefully.

Draco growled low hating the fact that he had screamed out. He didn't want to show any weakness to the hateful bully.

"Not talking, huh. That's okay. I'd rather hear you scream." Meggit said drawing the torch back and clubbing Draco in the ribs.

Draco expected it and did not scream this time. A cold sweat started to form on his brow as he anticipated the next blow. But it did not come so quickly.

Meggit instead walked away and leaned against one of the walls. "I've got all day to have my fun. So get comfy. You're not going to have such a great day."

Draco stood as best he could with his leg still throbbing. He stared at the large Slytherin wishing he had his wand. There were a couple of Unforgivable Curses he was dying to try out at that moment. But his curiosity was peaked by something Meggit had said earlier.

"All this time Pansy was the one working for my father. That's a little hard to believe. She's never been all that bright." Draco said breathing raggedly.

"She's smarter than you might have imagined." Meggit said in an ironic tone. "Hell, you never even knew she was on school grounds during Christmas break."

"She was?" Draco feigned surprise.

"Who the hell do you think set that big oaf's shack on fire?" Meggit said nastily.

"So it was Pansy who tried to kill Val." Draco said staring off a little as he remembered how Val looked when he removed her from the burning house. His temper fired again as he imagined all the times he had missed the opportunity to take revenge for that act. "But why?"

"Are you blind?" Meggit said chuckling. "You care so much for that stupid girl, who would rather spend her time with the Chosen One, and you barely give Pansy the time of day. You may see Val as a sister, but Pansy sees her as competition for your affection. That's another thing I plan on changing soon. It's time Pansy sees what a real man is."

"As far as I'm concerned you're welcome to her." Draco snorted. "That is if there is anything left of her after I get my revenge."

Meggit truly started laughing at those words, and then moved forward again ready for another go at his sport.


	26. Revenge

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

**Revenge**

Pansy had barely missed the arrival of Dumbledore and Snape as she turned a corner leading away from the Seventh floor corridor.

Severus stopped a few feet from the tapestry of the dancing goblins and watched as Dumbledore walked back and forth three times and then paused expecting a door to appear. "Apparently whomever is in there has asked for something quite different than I have."

Severus had himself never used the room and wasn't sure of its exact properties. "Is there no other way to open the room?"

"From what I have been told by the students who have used the room, once it is in use you must know what it is being used for otherwise the door will not appear." Albus explained thoughtfully.

"But to know that we would need to know who activated the room and what they were wanting when they went in it." Severus guessed correctly.

"Yes, Severus. That is true. I know what Harry would have had to ask for if he was attempting to go through the cupboard, and that did not work. So apparently either someone else activated the room, or Harry asked for something else." Albus suggested.

"Are you sure this is not just some other student using the room for another reason. What if our missing students are not even in there? This could be a waste of precious time." Severus suggested.

"Severus, every other option is being explored at this time. This is one we must also explore to be thorough." Albus said understanding Severus' impatient attitude.

At that moment Ron, Hermione and Tonks came rushing down the hall. Hermione was the first to speak. "Well." She said motioning to the blank wall where she knew the Room of Requirement would be.

"Someone is in the room, but they did not use the same request that Harry used to get into the room of hidden objects." Albus explained.

"Harry only found that room by accident. He tried to figure out what Draco was doing in there for months, and never truly figured it out until the Death Eater attack. If someone has asked for something else it may take us months to figure out what it is." Ron complained.

"We know that, Mr. Weasley. But it is the only option we have to go on. The Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade are being searched as we speak." Albus tried to assure them.

Hermione had a thoughtful look cross her face as she thought of another option. "There's one place that would not normally be searched that they could have gone."

They all looked at her, waiting for her to explain. "Ron, if Harry wanted to tell Val more about Sirius, but did not feel comfortable in taking her to the Order Headquarters, where would his next choice be?" She asked.

Ron had a quizzical look on his face for a moment and then it clicked. "Blimey, the Shrieking Shack. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Nymphadora, go with them to the shack. We will continue to try to open the Room of Requirement." Albus said nodding and then turning back to the empty wall.

* * *

Meggit grabbed the front of Draco's shirt and then ripped it open. "I want to see your ribs break when I hit them." Meggit said viciously.

Draco attempted to kick out towards Meggit, but the boy moved back and Draco felt the pain in his shoulders as he lost his footing again. Meggit moved in then slamming the butt of the torch into his stomach. Draco made a small groan as the air pushed from his body and he wanted to cringe in upon his stomach.

Meggit stood back for a moment smiling at his handiwork, but he thought to himself that something was missing. "This isn't good enough. I've never really had much of a chance to experiment with my parents' work. But I know there is always blood. Lots of blood."

Draco looked up to Meggit realizing that the boy was truly more sadistic than he had ever imagined possible. He knew then that if he did not figure some way out of this situation, he might not be alive to tell anyone of what happened. He could not wait for his father to finish his task. "If you want to see blood, why don't you give me a wand? I can show you a wonderful little curse, that will fill this room with blood." Draco taunted not mentioning the fact that the blood would be Meggit's.

"No, I told you we are using Muggle torture methods. They are so much more fun." Meggit chided as if he was speaking to a small child.

He turned walking around the room seeing all of the different torture devices that hung from the walls. The room had supplied him with many things he could use in his attempt to experiment in Muggle torture. He grasped something from the wall and tucked it inside his Hogwarts robe where Draco could not see it, and then turned back towards Draco. When he was within a few inches of Draco he reached out with both hands grabbing Draco's sides and then swung him around facing the wall. He leaned into Draco's back putting pressure behind his knees until they buckled and he was hanging limply against the wall with his face pressed against the cold stone. The chains attached to his wrists were cutting into them painfully as they were twisted as far as the links would allow. Meggit leaned in so he could whisper something into Draco's ear as he grasped a handful of Draco's hair. "I want to hear you scream, Pretty Boy." Then he slammed Draco's face into the wall hard. Draco could feel blood begin to flow from his nose and lip as the pain coursed through his face.

Meggit pulled back taking two items from his robe as he backed a couple of feet away. The first was Draco's wand. "Evanesco shirt." He said the charm and Draco's shirt disappeared from his body. He had not a clue why the other boy would do that but as foggy as his brain felt after having his head slammed against the wall it mattered little. But in the next moment, as he felt a sharp sting on his lower back, his mind cleared quickly. When the next stinging blow hit a little higher and the searing pain shot through his back it was all Draco could do not to scream in pain.

Meggit stood back looking at the two dark red welts the horsewhip had caused. He liked this little toy. It packed such a painful sting, but he knew it would take many strikes to actually draw blood. That could possibly mean hours of fun. "So, Malfoy, what do you think of Muggles now? They may be of little use to us in the Wizarding World but they do have such wonderful inventions don't they?"

Draco could hear the gloating tone in Meggit's voice and silently swore if he were ever able to get loose he would shove that contraption down the boys throat. "Shove off." Was what actually made it through his clenched teeth.

"Not nice." Meggit chided in glee as he laid the whip along Draco's back again and again.

Draco knew much more of the abuse would have him either screaming or crying like a baby. With each strike of the whip he repeated over and over in his head. 'I will not scream. I will not give him the satisfaction.' But as the pain became too much for him to withstand he started making whimpering noises that he could not hold back no matter how hard he tried.

"I didn't hear you, Draco." Meggit said as he drew the whip back one more time and noticed with a great deal of pleasure that some of the welts had begun to bleed. This only increased his aggression towards Draco as he doubled his efforts to make his fellow student scream.

Draco could no longer hear Meggit's taunts. He was too close to losing consciousness from the increased pain.

* * *

Albus had been busy thinking of any possible thing that Harry would ask for while going into the room, to no avail.

Severus' mind was working on the same problem, but more along the lines of what Draco would ask for if he was trying to enter the room and he too was pacing back and forth in front of the empty wall. For some reason over the past several minutes a deep dreading feeling had swamped him and he knew whatever was causing the feeling was behind that door. It was becoming so unbearable that it almost felt painful. He barely noticed when Ron, Hermione and Nymphadora returned.

Hermione was holding a photo album in one hand and Dumbledore could see that she looked very disturbed. "Well, Miss Granger. What have you found?"

"It is an album Ron and I made for Harry for his birthday. They were there." She said in worry. "But he would not have left this behind unless he did not leave of his own free will."

"I was afraid of that." Albus said as the worry increased on his face. "Severus." Albus turned to Snape who was still lost in concentration trying to open the Room of Requirement.

'What would Draco ask for? What would a Slytherin ask for?' Snape asked himself. 'I know what I would ask for. I would ask for a dungeon to torture my enemies in.' He admitted to himself in utter frustration at his inability to open the door, and was surprised to see the door appear before him.

They were all surprised to see the door. "Severus what did you ask for?" Albus asked frowning.

Severus shook his head in disbelief. "I asked for a dungeon to torture my enemies in."

A shocked gasp spread throughout the gathered group. The thought of Draco Malfoy torturing Harry in that room sprung to many minds. But as Snape reached out and pulled the door open another gasp was heard as they saw the last thing they would ever expect to witness. The large Slytherin boy turned his head as the door opened and dropped the whip pulling a wand from his robe, but not quickly enough.

Severus had his wand out and sent a curse flying at the boy. It took all the control he had to not use the Killing curse on the boy, but instead managed a petrifying curse. Within moments Snape had removed the chains from Draco and pulled him into the hallway away from the dungeon like room.

When Snape let go of Draco he slumped to the floor, as his legs no longer had the strength to hold his weight. He did not look up into the shocked faces surrounding him. He stared, still in some confusion, at his own knees as his entire body began to tremble from shock. Both Severus and Albus kneeled beside him.

"Draco, what happened?" Severus asked touching the boys shaking arm.

"A moment, Severus." Albus said then spoke a charm. "Enervate. There that should give him the strength enough to explain."

Draco immediately felt a surge of energy from the spell and sighed in some relief. He spoke the first thing that came to his mind. "My father has them. Val and Harry. I'm not sure how he was able to do it, but he's captured them."

"Yes, we discovered their absence earlier. We just decided that they were not removed from here under their own free will." Albus nodded. It encouraged him that Draco thought first of Val and Harry, but he also had to know why the young man had been so badly mistreated also. "And what was happening in that room?" He asked in a comforting voice. When Draco did not speak up immediately he tried again. "It's all right, Draco. We are your friends here. We will not allow this to happen again."

Draco let go of a shuddering sigh, knowing he would have to tell them if he wanted to be left alone. Which was exactly what he wanted at that moment. "The Slytherins were just supposed to keep me quiet for a day or so, while my father performed some task." Draco continued. "But Meggit had other ideas. He hates me because I turned his parents in as Death Eaters. He said they were hurt in the raid."

"I understand." Dumbledore said quietly. He hated to put the boy through more but he had to ask one more question. "Do you know where he is keeping them?" Dumbledore asked hoping that Draco would know.

"No. I would not go along with my father's plans. So he never confided in me what they were." Draco said realizing the mistake he had made. If only he had agreed he would at least known where his father had taken them. He began to shake again as his body threatened to shut down on him.

"It's okay, Mr. Malfoy. You are not to blame." Dumbledore said comfortingly. He stood then and his demeanor changed from comforting to commanding.

"I will go to the Ministry. Nymphadora you shall go with me. We will enlist the help of the other Auror's in the search. Severus you are in charge of the school. Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley please escort Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing. He will be in need of some care." Dumbledore made it known with his tone that he expected them to carry out his orders without question.


	27. Confrontation

**Disclaimer:** See chapter 1.

**Confrontation**

The adults in the group moved quickly in opposite directions leaving Draco where he sat, with Ron and Hermione standing above him. Draco did not look up to the two Gryffindors. His mind had turned in another direction as his rage began to return. He was furious at Meggit who was now petrified while Snape removed him to the dungeons, but he was even more furious with one other person in the castle, and he knew exactly where to find her.

Hermione looked to Ron not sure what to do. They didn't know if they should help Draco to stand or wait for him to ask for help. But he decided that for them as he stood rather stiffly as the pain seared through his back.

Ron shrugged at Hermione. But Hermione took her duties a little more seriously than Ron did. "Come on, Draco. We'll help you to the hospital wing." She said in a softer voice than she even thought herself capable of when talking to the young man she had learned to hate.

He turned to her and she could see the anger brewing in his eyes. But he did not strike out at her as she expected. "I'm not going to the Hospital Wing." He said icily. "I have something to do."

"What do you mean, Malfoy?" Ron asked seeing that he could barely stand. "Dumbledore said to take you to the Hospital Wing."

Draco turned those angry eyes on Ron but yet again did not strike out. "There is a person in this school who has answers and I'm going to get them. Now either get me my wand from in there or get out of my way." He said motioning to the open door to the Room of Requirement. They could see his wand on the floor where Meggit had dropped it.

Ron looked to Hermione and she had a look on her face that said she had no clue what to do, so Ron made a decision. He retrieved Draco's wand and brought it back but did not immediately give it to him. "If you're going to get answers, we are going with you."

Draco reached out snatching his wand, but spoke while doing so. "If you wish, but stay out of my way." His face showed them how deadly serious he was.

He turned towards the front of the castle and started walking as fast as his pain would let him, but as he moved and his anger grew even worse he forgot the pain and his steps became quicker as if he were possessed. Classes were let out before they reached the front of the school and they received amazed looks as a battered and beaten Draco Malfoy walked with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger through the halls. The deadly look on Draco's face kept anyone from making comments to him.

Draco immediately saw whom he was looking for standing in a group of Slytherin girls directly outside the castle. She was turned away from him and did not notice as the other girls became silent at his approach. Draco grabbed her arm and swung her around so she was backed against the stone wall, with his wand at her throat. "You better start talking, Pansy. I promise you, you won't survive otherwise."

Pansy's eyes had doubled in size as she saw his appearance. "Draco, but how..?" She began to ask.

"I'm asking the questions." He spat at her. "Where are my sister and Potter?"

"Draco, I don't know. Believe me." Pansy pleaded with him.

"I don't believe that. You were my father's contact here. You were doing his dirty work. He would have told you, so you could get out when it was over and done with." Draco shouted.

"Draco, please don't hurt me." She said as tears started running down her cheeks. "I didn't know Meggit would hurt you. You heard me tell him not to. I'm your friend. I have always been your faithful friend."

"A faithful friend does not try to kill those that you love." He shouted pressing her harder against the wall. Pansy whimpered slightly shaking her head. "Don't deny it, Pansy. Meggit told me about your invisibility cloak and how you stayed hidden during Christmas break so you could try to kill Val."

"I was only doing what was best for you." She whispered.

"You were only trying to get rid of the only person in this world that I cared for, so you could have my attentions to yourself. Get this through your head, Pansy. I despise you. I detest you, and if you don't tell me where my father has them, I will kill you here and now." He threatened pushing the wand into her throat.

"You can't do that, Draco." She said as the tears poured from her eyes. "I'm unarmed, and I'm a girl. Your new hero act would be blemished by such an action." She spat out angrily.

At that moment Hermione stood up beside Draco holding her own wand and pointing it at Pansy. "If he can't do it, I can." She said threatening the girl then whispered a curse. Pansy immediately felt the boils begin to blossom on he fair face.

Her hands flew up covering the pussy boils. She began screaming at the mess her face was becoming.

"Quit that screaming, Pansy, or I'll turn her loose on you. I hate to think of all the curses she has been dreaming up to use on you in the last seven years." Draco said vindictively. "Now talk. No one is going to help you now." And his words were true. Ron was standing behind them with his wand drawn threatening anyone who might consider defending her.

Pansy finally muttered the words he wanted to hear as she stopped crying out. "The Secret House of the Serpent."

Draco gasped slightly. "But Voldemort knows of it. He would be an open target there."

"Your father made a deal with Voldemort. He would deliver a weakened and broken Harry Potter to him at the end of this day. At that point Voldemort would be assured to defeat him in front of his faithful Death Eaters. As payment for this act your father will be forgiven and welcomed back into the ranks. Voldemort will not attack your father if there is any chance that he can deliver on his promise." Pansy explained.

"A weakened and broken Harry?" Hermione asked as her fear increased.

"Lucius will use Val as a pawn to control Harry and then torture him to the point of exhaustion. At that point he will break his spirit." She said then stopped reluctant to go on.

"And exactly how will he do that?" Draco asked knowing he would not like the answer.

"He will kill Val in front of him." She whispered.

Draco's breath caught in his throat. He knew how much his father detested Val, but he never imagined he would kill her. But something wasn't clicking in his mind. "But why. If he is going to torture Potter, why would he have to kill her?"

Pansy laughed ironically. "You are blind aren't you, Draco?" She said. When he looked even more confused she answered him. "Because Potter is in love with her. I saw them kissing by the lake a few weeks ago. If Lucius takes the girl he loves from him it will break his spirit like nothing else can."

Draco let go of her and turned towards Hermione. Hermione shrugged at his unasked question. "It's possible." Was all she could say. He turned towards Ron then.

Ron looked him square in the eyes and Draco could see the truth written there. "What difference does it make? She's still Val, no matter who she loves. Now isn't she?" Ron said angrily.

Draco looked away from them for a moment. He looked around the grounds as his mind fought to accept the information. And he found that truly in his heart it did not matter. Even if they did not share the same parents, she was and always would be his sister, and he had to do something to save her. He nodded once and started back towards the castle doors.

"Where are you going, Malfoy?" Ron called out.

"We need help if we are going to save them. There's only one way into The Secret House of the Serpent. And for that we need to go to Dumbledore's office." He called back not waiting for them.

Draco did not know the password for the gargoyles in front of the entrance to Dumbledore's office, but Hermione did. They did not stop to knock when they entered the office. Severus Snape was sitting at Dumbledore's desk, writing several letters to be sent by floo to any contacts he still had outside of the school that might have a notion of where Lucius could be hidden. He looked up scowling at the three teenagers. "Mr. Malfoy, you are supposed to be in the Hospital Wing."

Draco did not stop for explanations. "We know where they are." He said immediately.

"What?" Severus said as his face dawned a speculative look.

"The Secret House of the Serpent." Draco blurted out.

Severus' eyes widened at the name. He began to ask the obvious question but Draco cut him off. "He has made a deal with Voldemort. A weakened and broken Harry Potter in exchange for his position in the Death Eaters."

"And just how did you discover all of this?" Severus asked not sure whether to believe such a tale.

"My father had an accomplice here at the school. She has confessed." Draco said cryptically.

Severus wondered just how the accomplice was made to talk, but guessed that he would probably be proud of his student's efforts if he knew. "This makes things more difficult, and you know that, Draco."

"Why?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Because only certain people know how to enter this place, Ms. Granger, and it is very dangerous to do so, if you are not wanted there." Severus answered. "And I am not one of those privileged with that information."

"But I am." Draco answered.

Severus blinked a few times as the words surprised him. "Where do you think I was supposed to go after the attempt on Dumbledore last year?" Draco explained.

"Well then what's stopping us?" Ron said in excitement ready to go anywhere to save his friends.

Draco turned to Ron and smiled ironically. "Well nothing is stopping Professor Snape and I, but you two can't go."

"You have got to be bloody out of your mind if you think we are staying behind when Harry is in trouble." Ron said angrily.

"Calm down, Weasley." Snape said coldly. "Mr. Malfoy is correct. Only true Slytherins or Death Eaters are allowed to enter this place we speak of. The wards of the house are set to kill anyone else as soon as they step foot in it. Only certain high-ranking Death Eaters can negate the wards, and since I have never even been there before I can do nothing to protect you. Only Draco and I will be able to enter, and I am really only guessing that we will be safe."

At those words Ron and Hermione looked to each other in desperation. They had never truly trusted either of them, but how could they do anything else.

"After we are gone, you two must contact Dumbledore at the Ministry. Tell him everything you have learned. He will have to see if the floo network can determine where we are taken, so reinforcements can be sent." Severus said standing and moving around the desk towards the fireplace. "After you, Mr. Malfoy."

"Hold on." Ron said unbuttoning the shirt he wore and removing it holding it out to Draco. "You can't let the enemy know how badly you are hurt."

Draco had forgotten that he was shirtless. As a matter of fact he had forgotten his pain completely in his rage. He took the shirt, which would fit him decently and put it on. Weasley had a point. The bleeding had stopped for the most part but his back was covered in cuts and dried blood. If they did face opposition his weakness would be evident if not hidden. He nodded his thanks then turned to the fire. He grabbed a handful of floo powder and turned back to them "No offence intended, Granger."

Hermione looked at him strangely then he threw the powder and said the words to activate the floo. "The Secret House of the Serpent. Death to all Mudbloods." Hermione's face turned scarlet at the word Mudblood, but she nodded in understanding.

Snape followed him and then she and Ron were left alone. Left to wait for word after passing on the information they knew to Dumbledore. It would be a long wait.


	28. Torture

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1.

**Torture**

"As I thought, Potter." Lucius said stepping off the bottom step and giving Harry a wicked smile. "This will actually require very little on your part."

"Just tell me, Malfoy." Harry said bitterly.

"So eager for the pain, are you?" Lucius said wanting to draw the mental abuse out a little further.

Harry could feel the tips of his fingers itching to wrap around the wizards throat. He had felt hate before, but the utter helplessness he felt at that moment was driving him beyond reason. He wondered if he could possibly make it the ten feet across the room before Lucius could curse him. He took one tentative step forward.

Lucius could see the war waging inside Harry, and it was exactly what he wanted. "Ah, ah, Potter. I can read you like an open book. One more step and she will not enjoy the consequences." Lucius pointed his wand at Val again.

Harry immediately stepped back again and held his rebellious tongue.

"Now that is better. I enjoy a dutiful subject." Lucius gloated.

"Get on with it." Harry said between gritted teeth.

Lucius laughed coldly. "As you wish. First we must keep from being interrupted. I want you to shackle Val to that wall." Lucius said motioning to the far wall.

Harry's eyes became large as he thought of doing such a thing. He looked down to Val who was regaining her strength and had sat up. She was shaking her head back and forth at the thought of being shackled to a wall while Lucius had his fun.

"Mr. Potter. I am growing impatient." Lucius said raising his wand a slight amount.

Harry looked back to him and then to Val. He leaned over placing his hands under her arms and pulling her to her feet. "I'm sorry, Val." He whispered.

"Don't do this, Harry. You can't give in to him." She said as he began pushing her back towards the wall. She was still too weak to fight back as she found herself against the wall.

"I can't let him hurt you." Harry whispered to her again as he reached out and placed one of her wrists in a shackle snapping it shut.

"Harry, don't." She gave her final plea and placed her other hand against his chest above his heart.

Harry covered her hand with his. "Do you trust me?" He asked.

She looked in his eyes and admitted that yes she did trust him and always would. "Yes." She whispered.

Then he pulled her hand away fastening the other shackle to her wrist. It snapped shut with a loud snap and Val felt an immense overwhelming fear pour through her heart. She was trapped and there was nothing she could do to help him.

Harry took one last look at her and turned to face his tormentor. "It's done."

"Good. That is very good, Potter. Now just one other thing. The table before you. I want you to lie on it. It's as simple as that." Lucius said in a falsely casual tone.

Harry looked at the table, which he recognized as a Muggle examination table. He had seen them before during his days at Privet Drive. He wondered what evil Malfoy had planned for him.

"It's a simple request, Potter." Lucius said impatiently. "If you don't want to do it, I can always concentrate my efforts on the girl again."

Harry moved forward immediately. He turned sitting on the table and then lie down knowing in his heart that he would regret the outcome before his back touched the table. Without any warning metal bands came from seemingly nowhere wrapping around Harry's arms and legs. Harry immediately tried to pull his arms and legs free but it was impossible. He mentally berated himself for agreeing. He was trapped and he had willing walked into it.

Lucius' evil laughter poured through the room echoing off the walls. "It will only be worse if you fight it, Potter." Lucius said moving forward to peer over Harry.

Harry made a low growling noise in the back of his throat as his anger grew at the Wizard, who was gloating over his prone form. "You will not get away with this, Malfoy."

"Oh, I already have. You are completely at my mercy, Potter. And there is no one to come to your rescue." Lucius said as a brilliant smile spread across his face but Harry could see that the smile did not touch those cold eyes of his.

"Now to begin. Evanesco shirt." Lucius said and watched as Harry's shirt disappeared. Harry immediately felt more vulnerable at that point.

"I'm assuming since you grew up with Muggles that you recognize this table you are lying on. You know sometimes we Death Eaters do learn from those nasty Muggles and their crude means of treating patients. Do you know that if something is wrong in a Muggle body most of the time they cut it open to treat the problem? They actually inflict more damage to the body to correct a problem. Of course we in the Wizarding World realize how barbaric a practice that this is. But in certain cases we can learn something that can be very useful in certain instances." Lucius had leaned over Harry and was using his wand to draw patterns on his chest. "Scalpellum." Lucius said smiling and Harry immediately felt a stabbing pain in his chest. It was not an excruciating pain as the Cruciatus curse was, but still hurt like hell.

Lucius reached out touching the place below his wand and then pulled his fingers up showing them to Harry. He could see bright red blood covering those pale fingers. "You have seen your own blood before, haven't you?"

Harry began to speak a biting remark but Lucius moved the wand ever so slowly to the left and it felt as if a knife was cutting a deep line through his skin. Harry bit hard on his lip keeping the scream at bay. "Ah, that does hurt, now doesn't it?" Lucius said conversationally.

Val had an unobstructed view of what was happening from where she stood by the wall. She rushed forward until her arms were bent completely back as she strained against the shackles and chains that held her. "Stop this, you monster." She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Lucius looked up remembering her presence. "That is very annoying don't you think?" He asked Harry. He immediately pointed his wand at Val and sent a Langlock curse at her virtually stealing her voice. "Now that's better."

Harry still fought against the bands holding him in place. He could feel blood running down the sides of his chest as he struggled.

"Ah, ah, ah. We are no where near done." Lucius said placing his wand over Harry's stomach this time.

Harry cringed as the pain shot through him and he felt as if his insides were being spilt out on the table. Lucius again touched the wound pulling his hand up and showing Harry just how much blood he was spilling. Lucius stared intently at the blood and started speaking. "You know, blood is a fascinating thing. It actually has very little use. It runs through our veins circling through our body, going in circles so to speak. But if someone is cut deep enough letting the blood run free from their body they eventually become too weak to sustain life."

Harry could only think of one thing to say. "Why?"

Lucius looked to him as if he had been startled out of deep thought. "Oh but, Potter. I expected you to have understood by now. At the end of this day I will hand you over to Lord Voldemort. At that point you will be too weak to put up much of a fight. You will be defeated, and I will regain my rightful place by his side."

"No." Harry denied the thought. But he knew he had backed himself into a corner.

Val was still straining against the chains that held her. The tears had started to course down her cheeks in streams, as soundless sobs wracked her body. She blamed herself for what was happening to Harry. He had wanted to spare her more pain, and instead had signed his own death decree. She never once believed that Lucius would spare her more pain. She had grown up with the evil man as the only father she ever knew and she knew exactly what he was capable of. He knew full well the pain he was causing in her heart by forcing her to watch the torture. She was not even capable of screaming out the pain she felt. He had not even allowed her that. She would gladly accept the Cruciatus curse over the pain she was feeling at that moment.

The pain continued for hours as Lucius slowly drew pattern after pattern on Harry's unmarred skin letting the blood flow. It was dripping to the floor in a steady rhythm from the sides of the table. Drip, drip, drip ever so slowly and every time Harry thought that maybe he had lost enough blood to give out completely Lucius would heal the wounds with a few whispered words, and then the process would start all over again. Even with the skin healed the pain remained and multiplied with each cut.

Harry had been strong for such a long time until finally the pain had become too much and he had begun to whimper as the wand sliced through his skin. He was too weak for anything above a whimper but even the notion that he could not hold that back scarred his soul just as his body was now being scarred.

Val had slumped to the floor as the tears poured from her just as his blood was pooling on the floor below him. She was already weak from the Cruciatus curse and the pent up sobs she was so desperately trying to let out were wracking her body painfully.

Lucius ran his hand over the new set of cuts he had just made and was pleased as they sealed leaving scars in their place. He was very pleased with the pattern left behind. He had virtually carved a large picture of a serpent in Harry's chest and stomach. His hands were covered in blood and it had even splattered across his face, but in his own apparent madness he had not noticed.

He looked to Harry's face, and could see the distant look in his eyes. Harry had stopped making any noise at least ten minutes before as he retreated into his own mind blocking the pain away. "Potter, now, now. We can't go away just yet. There is one more task we must complete before the Dark Lord joins us." Harry's chest still rose and fell with his breathing but there was no other evidence that he still lived. There was no reaction at all to Lucius' words.

Lucius waved his wand above Harry and the metal bands holding him in place withdrew back into the table. Harry still did not move. "Hmm, maybe a little more stimulation." Lucius said looking down upon Harry's still form. He waved his wand yet again whispering a word and Harry's body immediately rolled from the table and landed in the pool of blood on the floor with a loud splat. Lucius moved around the table expecting the sudden jolt to liven Harry, but still there was no movement.

Lucius was lost as to what to try. How could he finish his torture if the darn boy would not even show the decency enough to respond to it? But then another thought struck him. "Maybe a familiar voice."

Lucius turned to Val and removed the Langlock curse. Val suddenly felt her tongue begin to move again and sobs poured from her mouth. "Harry." She cried out. The sight of him just lying there not moving frightened her more than anything else in the world could have. "Please Harry. Don't give up." She called to him as she strained even further forward.

Lucius watched Harry intently not seeing any reaction. He concentrated for another moment deciding on his next action. "As it shall be."

He turned to Val pointing his wand at her. "Crucio." And the blue light emanated from his wand enveloping her in excruciating pain.

Her screams echoed throughout the chamber as the blue light faded. Lucius had been watching Harry's reaction and he could see the slightest flinching around his eyes at her scream. So yet again. "Crucio."

This time Harry's eyes seemed to focus on the person screaming, and to Lucius' delight Harry began to move. "Crucio."

After the third time Lucius' waved his wand and watched as Val's chains and shackles disappeared and she fell to the floor.

Harry did not know where the strength to move was coming from but he had begun to use his arms to push himself up, half crawling half dragging himself over to where Val was writhing in pain.

Lucius watched in delight as Harry finally reached Val and pulled her into his arms. Her whole body was convulsing with the after-affects of the curse. "Val." He whispered her name trying desperately to hold her body still fearing what damage she might sustain from the convulsions.

"How touching." Lucius said sneering. He had moved to within feet of the two and was holding his wand at the ready.

Harry looked up to him and the rage he felt deep down was more than he had ever felt in his life. "You said she would feel no more pain, if I obeyed you." Harry managed to say through his gritted teeth.

"Sorry, Potter. I had to get your attention somehow, but I promise she will never feel pain again." Lucius said a bright smile lighting his face as he pointed the wand directly at Val's chest. Harry could see the tip of the wand begin to glow green. "Avad…"


	29. Ultimatum

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**The Ultimatum**

Draco and Severus appeared out of the fireplace into a huge room that was furnished in more elegance then either of them had ever seen. Everything they could see was decorated in green, black or silver. Snape was positive that they had wound up in the right Manor. It was rumored that the house had at one time been home to Salazar Slytherin himself. There were windows along one of the walls and it was easy to see they had traveled quite a distance considering it was now nighttime outside and when they left Hogwarts it had been early afternoon.

Without saying a word, Snape pointed to three doors on the opposite side of the room. They both moved forward with wands drawn, ready for whatever might be behind those doors.

Draco whispered once they reached the doors. "It's not the middle one. I've been here once before. I was taken through there and up stairs to an office where a meeting was being held. That's the only place it goes."

Severus nodded motioning Draco to the right hand door while he took the left. They opened the doors at the same time half expecting something to attack, but there was nothing except two sets of spiral staircases heading down.

"We have to split up, Draco." Severus said looking over to the young man. "If you run into trouble, use the voice amplifying spell to call for help. I'll get to you as soon as possible."

Draco gave him a disdainful sneer. "And if you get into trouble?"

"Less cheek, Malfoy." Severus warned scowling and then started down his set of stairs.

Draco headed down his own set of stairs and even though he had been rude to Snape over his concern, it did comfort him slightly to know that help was there if he needed it.

Severus traveled down the spiral stairs in almost complete silence. He came to a landing leading off of the stairs and to a door. Severus watched as the door slid shut, but he had missed whoever had exited through it. It was time to make a decision. Logical thought told him that the dungeons would be on the lowest level of the structure, but was it wise to continue down the stairs with a possible enemy behind him? No it was not. He crept quietly to the door and pulled it open with wand at the ready. And there, standing maybe thirty feet down the hall was a figure he knew very well.

"Fenrir. It has been nearly a year now." Severus said moving out into the hallway.

"Why, Severus. My old friend. Still working for that decrepit old wizard I see." Greyback said leaning against a windowsill. The entire corridor had windows running down each side. Severus could see an immense courtyard to his left out the windows, and a lush forest several hundred feet to the right.

"I work for myself, Fenrir." Severus said snarling. "I wonder who you are working for these days though."

"I am just here to make sure an exchange goes smoothly this night." Greyback said idly looking out the window.

"I'm afraid no trade will be made this night." Severus said raising his wand in a threatening manner.

"How will you stop it, Traitor?" Greyback asked and turned his face to Severus. Severus could see a strange expression flood the man's eyes. It was an expression he had seen once before, in the eyes of Remus Lupin, on the night he had seen him transform into a Werewolf at Hogwarts.

Severus turned his face to the right and stared out the window at the brightest full moon he had seen in years. "Oh, hell." He whispered as he turned back to the beast before him that was no longer a man.

* * *

"Avada…" Lucius heard the click as the door to the left of where he stood clicked open and he stopped the words on his lips. He assumed it was Fenrir checking on his progress. "I'll be done in a moment."

"Done with what, Father?" A familiar voice asked.

Lucius spun around greeted with the site of his son standing on the landing with his wand drawn. He had not seen Draco in the flesh in nearly two years. His son had grown into a man it seemed during that time. "Draco." A broad smile crossed his face.

Draco did not return the smile as he took in the scene in the room. He could see the blood covering the examining table, and he could see it on his father's hands, clothes and face also. He saw Harry kneeling on the floor looking pale warn and half covered in blood also, and he could see Val in his arms, half conscious and trembling with convulsions. "You didn't answer my question, Father."

Lucius' smile faded as he saw the dark look on his son's face. "Preparing for the arrival of Lord Voldemort of course." Was his answer.

"Father, what have you stooped to?" Was the only thing Draco could think to ask. "Look at you. You're half mad. You're covered in blood and torturing a girl who you once called daughter."

"More like killing." Harry spoke up as his anger bubbled to the surface again.

"Shut up, Potter." Lucius snarled at Harry and then turned back to Draco. "Are you still looking to protect this girl, Draco? She is nothing to us. Her mother was a slut, and so is she." He said in disgust.

Draco gritted his teeth biting back the curse that immediately jumped to his mind after hearing the words. He looked to Val again and could see that she was starting to come around again recovering from the curse. "She may not be your daughter. But she is my sister." He finally said after controlling his anger.

Lucius stood for a moment lost in thought, and then seemed to come to a decision. "If you want her that bad, she's yours." Lucius said smiling malevolently. "Under one condition."

Draco had not expected his father's words. He turned and slowly started walking down the stairs giving him time to think about what his father might be up to. Once he stood but five feet away from his father he spoke. "What condition?"

"She is yours to do with as you please. I don't care it you keep her as a sister, a slave, or a whore, just as long as I never have to see her again, but you must join me. Stand with me, my Son, when I deliver Potter to Lord Voldemort." Lucius said in a slightly pleading voice.

Draco looked from his father's expectant face down to where Harry kneeled. He could see that the young man had very little fight left in him. Harry didn't look up to Draco. He was staring at Val. Val who Draco could see was completely lucid again. She was shaking her head, and he could see the utter fear in her eyes. Fear that he knew was not for herself, but for the young man that held her.

Harry heard Lucius' words and he knew that if Draco chose to accept his father's offer Val would be safe. He most certainly would be dead, but Val would be safe. "Take his offer, Draco." He said still looking down at Val who immediately looked him in the eye. She tried to argue but her voice came out as a squeak after all of the screams.

"Always the hero, Potter." Draco said with a small ironic chuckle. He looked to his father then and shook his head slowly. "Not this time, Potter." He said circling around his father until he was standing in between him and the captives.

"What are you doing, boy?" Lucius asked in surprise.

"I'm being foolish." Draco answered. "And for once, it feels good."

"So this is your answer." Lucius said angrily.

"Yes, it is." Draco said as a grim line of determination crossed his face. Draco watched the emotions play across his father's face. His father was a cruel man. He had done many things during his years as a Death Eater that Draco hated to even think about. But he had always put his family first in the past. Anything Draco had ever wanted had been his. His father had always done whatever it took to make sure Draco had the best. He felt deep in his heart that his father could not intentionally hurt him. He counted on that feeling to bring him safely through this situation.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Son." Lucius said, closing his eyes for a moment and then opened them again. "Sectumsempra." His voice rang out loudly through the room and a bolt of red light flew from his wand hitting Draco in the chest.

Draco had no time to react. He was shocked and horrified as he realized what was happening. And then there was nothing but pain. He had felt this pain before. It was the worst feeling possible as his body fell backwards landing just inches from Val and Harry. Blood began to pour from several deep wounds.

Val summoned every bit of strength she had left to get to her knees and crawl to Draco's side. Harry also made his way to Draco's other side.

Lucius stood unmoving and unflinching as he watched the scene before him.

"Draco, oh Merlin no." Val whispered placing her hands on one of the wounds trying to stem the flow of blood.

Harry watched helplessly knowing the only thing that would save him was the counter curse. He looked up to Lucius. "Your own son." He said in disbelief.

"He needed to be taught a lesson." Lucius said smirking.

"What lesson? What it feels like to die." Harry suggested, looking back down to Draco and noticing something.

"He won't die, if I use the counter curse in time." Lucius said nonchalantly.

Harry reached out as if he would take Draco's hand, but then turned facing Lucius with something in his hand. "Expelliarmus." He called out and Lucius' wand flew from his hand landing near Val.

Lucius looked in surprise at Draco's wand being held in Harry's hand. Val reached out taking Lucius' wand in her hand. "Do you know the counter curse, Harry?" She asked her voice a little stronger then remembering that Harry had once used the curse on Draco himself.

"No, I don't. I could not hear what Snape said." Harry admitted not taking his eyes off of Lucius.

"Well aren't you in a situation?" Lucius said chuckling slightly. "I am the only person in this room that knows that counter curse, and I will need my wand back to perform it. Now won't I?"

Harry began to shake his head violently. Val looked down to Draco, and could see the immense pain in his eyes. He was bleeding to death. "Harry, he'll die." She said reaching out and placing her hand on his arm.

Harry looked down to Draco and it seemed as if he was reliving the year before when he had used the same curse on him. Only this time there was no Snape to fix things and he for once in his life wished to see the hated Potions Master. "Val, if you give that wand to him, he can kill you just as easily as cure Draco." He said looking her in the eyes.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take." She said steadily. Harry was shaking his head again glancing wearily back at Lucius and then back to Val. "Harry, if he dies I won't want to live anyway. He is still my brother." She said still grasping Harry's arm.

Harry held her gaze for one moment more and then turned to Lucius again. "If you try anything, I will kill you."

Val moved back letting Lucius kneel next to his son. Harry stayed where he was within a couple of feet of Lucius with the wand directed at his chest. Val reached out handing the wand over to Lucius, who gave her a half smile, which sent chills down her back. He then leaned over Draco holding the wand, with his head bowed.

From the position Harry was in he could not see Lucius' eyes. But Val was to his side and saw as his eyes averted towards Harry instead of Draco. In that brief moment she realized that Lucius had no intention of healing Draco. She dove towards him as his mouth opened and the wand rose pointed at Harry instead of Draco.

The curse missed Harry by inches as Val landed on top of the man pushing him over. They struggled for a moment until Lucius was finally able to throw Val off. She landed on her back just inches from Harry. Lucius brought his wand up again. "Avada…"

But he was too late. "Sectumsempra." Harry called out pointing Draco's wand at Lucius, and watched as the man fell backwards screaming in pain. He was on top of Lucius within seconds. "Now listen to me. You have very little time. If you want to live, you'll tell me the counter curse. I'll heal Draco, and just maybe I'll save your wretched life too." He demanded.

Lucius was beginning to choke on the blood rising in his mouth. He opened his mouth and Harry was sure he'd be told the words to the curse, but instead a high cackle was heard.

Val had crawled back to Draco and could see that his eyes were closed. He didn't have much time left. "Oh Draco, it can't end this way." She said as she took his bloody hand in hers. "We promised to take care of each other. You can't leave me now." She said choking on a sob.

"Tell me, you Bastard." Harry said pulling Lucius up by his shirt and slamming him back to the floor. "He's your son, damn you. Tell me."

_Author's Note: Ah well I guess this is as good a place to leave off as any. So who wants to use a curse on me now? So, will Draco live? Will Lucius tell Harry the counter curse? And what of Snape and the werewolf? Guess you'll just have to read the next chapter to find out, won't you?_


	30. The Connection

**Disclaimer: **Not mine.

**The Connection**

Severus slammed hard into the stone wall nearly losing the grip on his wand. Fenrir was fast. Faster than he had ever expected. None of the curses he had attempted on the werewolf had hit the mark. Within seconds Fenrir was on top of him his sharp canines mere inches from Severus' face.

Severus' wand arm was bent at an odd angle, with the wand pointed away from the large beast above him. He could almost see a spark of intelligence in the creature's eyes. And if he didn't know better he would swear the beast was smiling. He realized then that even as a werewolf the creature knew exactly what it was doing and it enjoyed it. That went against everything that wizards had always believed about the creatures. But unless he was imagining things it was true.

If it wasn't his imagination a certain ploy might just work to save his life. "So Fenrir, how does it feel to be one of Malfoy's lackeys again?"

The beast above him, that was just about to sink its teeth into his throat, paused at his words. A low growl was heard issuing from its throat.

Severus saw the reaction and decided to use it to his advantage. "I really imagined that you would feel a sense of independence while Lucius was in Azkaban. Sorry to see that that had to end so soon. I'm sure you enjoyed not having to do his dirty work for him."

For what seemed like minutes but was actually only a few heartbeats there was complete silence in the hallway. Then the silence was broken by an eerie sound. It sounded like a cross between a growl and a laugh. Severus stared into the eyes of the beast and knew his ploy hadn't worked.

The pain was blinding. He had only once imagined what it would feel like to be bitten by such a creature, and his imagination had been lacking in what the reality of being mauled by a werewolf really was.

There was no way he could push the creature off of him, and living the life that he knew he would now be subjected to was not something he could accept easily. He maneuvered his wand hand so it was directed as close to the hall ceiling as he possibly could. "Bombarda." He whispered and within seconds an explosion sounded throughout the hall.

Fenrir turned too late as large stones from the ceiling began to rain down atop him.

Severus watched through pain filled eyes, as it seemed the entire structure would land on top of them. But it was not to be. Several large stones were dislodged landing atop the werewolf. Severus felt the full weight of the foul creature land on him, and knew the beast was unconscious. But the structure itself had held.

Severus lay there cursing himself realizing his pain had weakened the spell that he had meant to destroy them both at that moment. His shoulder was in complete agony where Fenrir's teeth had sunken into it, and Severus considered just staying where he was until the beast became conscious again hoping it would kill him when it awoke.

But then a sensation of pure agony and pain shot through his mind. He felt something familiar about the pain, but could not place it. The pain was not originating from him though. He was sure of it. Then a thought passed over his mind. Had the vow really linked them this closely? "Draco." He whispered knowing he had no choice but to pull himself up and find the young man.

* * *

"Damn you, Malfoy. Stop the cackling and tell me what I need to know." Harry bellowed in pure rage as Lucius Malfoy stared up at him with a look mixed with pain and mirth.

"What does it …matter to you, Potter?" Lucius said in a gasping breath. "You have hated… my son for … years now."

Harry could not help the blinding anger that was pouring through him. This man had put him through so much pain, and now he was even unwilling to save his own son. His hand shot out slapping the man hard, wanting desperately to knock some sense into him. "No matter what, he does not deserve death, you monster." Harry had lost so many of those he loved in his life making every life he cared about so precious to him. He would fight for any of them to the death. And even though he had never given a damn for Draco, the thought of a father willingly watching his son die went against ever fiber of his being. It was the most obscene, disgusting thing he could ever imagine.

Val watched in horror as Harry lost control of his senses and she knew in that instant that Lucius would watch his son die before he ever gave into Harry's demands. She looked down to the young man who had grown up as her brother and the only person in the world she had ever counted on. The only person besides Harry who had showed her the slightest bit of love since her mother's death. He was staring up at her, but she could see the immense amount of pain in his eyes clouding his vision. She knew he would never survive this and she had no clue how to take the pain away.

"Val." He whispered finally realizing she was there.

"Yes, Draco." She whispered holding back the sob she felt bubbling to the surface in her throat.

"It hurts so bad, Sis." He said reaching a hand up toward her face.

Val grabbed his hand pulling it against her cheek. "I know, Brother. I know." She answered him. "I wish I could take the pain away."

He knew he was dying. He felt the icy hands of death grabbing at him greedily. "I'm cold, Val."

Ignoring the blood that was beginning to cover most of his body Val reached out pulling him into a sitting position as she wrapped her arms around him. "It will be over soon." She whispered holding him as tight as she could, realizing that emotional comfort was all she had left to give him. "You'll never feel pain again, Draco. You'll be with Momma. She'll take care of you until I can be with you again."

And the words did offer some comfort as Draco remembered the smiling face of the woman he wished had been his mother. Yes, Helena would be there waiting for him. He knew she would. And it didn't matter that she was not his true mother, she would love him just the same. Just as she always had.

* * *

When Severus opened the door to the torture chamber he had not expected to see so much human destruction. The amount of blood covering everything from the floor to the ceiling and all those inside was staggering. His eyes immediately searched for the one person he knew needed him the most.

There before his eyes was Val holding Draco rocking back and forth like a mother attempting to comfort a hurt child. Draco, who he could see was covered in blood,had lost almost all color to his own pale skin. Within seconds he was beside them trying to pull him from Val's arms. "Let go girl. Do you want him to die?"

Val in her confused misery had not realized whom it was that was trying to pull Draco from her arms. But his voice brought her back to reality and she stared dumbfounded at Professor Snape who was waving his wand above Draco whispering an incantation she had never heard before. Then her eyes were drawn to Draco as she watched the deep wounds in his body closing.

Harry had turned in surprise as the door slammed open. Tears actually sprung to his eyes seeing the one person who he knew could save Draco. He looked down to Lucius and a wicked smile spread across his face. "Looks like we won't be needing your help after all. I hope you enjoy death."

Harry made his way to where Snape was kneeling beside Draco and watched as the Wizard worked furiously to save him. After a few moments Snape stopped muttering the spell and bowed his head in exhaustion. It had taken a great amount of energy to undo the damage that had been inflicted on the young man. But it was done.

Harry and Val watched expectantly as Draco's eyes opened very slowly. He looked around at the concerned faces above him, finally resting on that of the man who had saved him. "It's about time." He said weakly.

Severus looked down at the arrogant smirk he was used to seeing on the young man's face. "If you had used the voice amplifying spell, as I instructed you to, then maybe I might have arrived sooner, Mr. Malfoy." He said in that all too familiar hiss of his.

"You can give him detention later, Professor. We need to get out of here." Harry said looking around suddenly feeling the urge to run as fast as possible. He suddenly felt a cold chill run down his spine. He looked down to see Snape clutch at the tattoo of the dark mark that was under his sleeve.

"Yes, I think we will have company very soon." Severus nodded standing pulling Draco up and draping his arm over his own shoulder, knowing he would not have the strength to walk up the stairs unaided. "Can you two walk?"

Val stood on shaky legs and reached down helping Harry to stand. She knew he must be ready to drop after all of the blood that Lucius had drained from his body.

* * *

Hermione, Ron and Professor Dumbledore stood in his office waiting for any sign of movement from the floo. Ron and Hermione had explained everything to Dumbledore and now there was nothing they could do but wait. The floo network had managed to determine where Draco and Snape had gone and Albus had sent Tonks and any other Aurors that could be contacted to raid the Secret House of Serpents. He only hoped they would not be too late. If Voldemort and his Death Eaters had already arrived, there was little chance that anyone would survive.

"Why is it taking so long?" Ron said leaning against the fireplace mantel looking into the fire. He was wearing a shirt that Dumbledore had conjured for him out of thin air, and he was beginning to regret his show of kindness to Draco by giving him his own shirt. "I swear if that git has duped us into thinking he is helping them, I will personally rip his heart out."

Hermione was sitting on a chair with her head in her hands constantly running her fingers through her hair. "He won't do that." Hermione said, but she was more trying to convince herself than Ron.

"You two must remain calm. I trust in Professor Snape to bring them back." Dumbledore said from his seat behind his desk.

"Yeah well, you've been wrong about him before, now haven't you?" Ron said bitterly.

"In the end, no I wasn't." Albus said chastising the young man. "There are many sides to every man, Mr. Weasley. It's about time you realized that. There is more to this world than right and wrong, black and white. You will find you understand more of life once you accept that fact."

Ron looked up to Dumbledore about to say something when a bright green light flashed in the fire grate and then with a puff of smoke two figures flew out of the fireplace landing on the floor before them.

"Harry. Val." Hermione screamed covering her mouth with her hand as she saw the blood covering both of them and the immense scar across Harry's chest and stomach.

For once Ron Weasley could find nothing to say. He didn't know any curses strong enough to describe his feelings at seeing them in such a state.

Val sat up and looked to Harry beside her. He was moving slow but still moving. Then she looked around the room at the others and broke out in hysterical laughter. Everyone but Harry looked shocked at her outburst. He just smiled at her, and then reached out wrapping her in a fierce hug.

"We're alive." She said hugging him back tightly. But then she pulled out of his embrace and stood facing the fireplace with an expectant look on her face.

Harry also looked to the fireplace ignoring his friends. It wasn't worth it unless they all made it back alive.

"What?" Ron finally regained his voice as he realized they were waiting for something. But then he received his answer as the grate blazed with green light again and two more figures were hurled into the room.

Professor Snape who looked like he had went through a wheat mill was standing before them supporting the bloody form of Draco Malfoy who was barely able to walk at that point. Val rushed forward placing her arm around the other side of Draco helping Snape hold him upright.

"Well before we have explanations, I suggest we get them to the Hospital Wing." Albus suggested. He motioned to Harry. "Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley. Do you mind?"

Hermione and Ron each took one side of Harry helping him up and they all traveled the corridors towards the Hospital Wing.


	31. New Possibilities

**Disclaimer: **Not Mine.

_Author's Note: It was pointed out to me that the most blood anyone can lose and still survive is around 2 liters, and I was also told that someone I know lost 6 ½ pints so just imagine that our boys lost an amount slightly less than that._

_Warning for this chapter: Serious Sibling Fluffiness. So if that's not your thing you might want to stop now_.

**New Possibilities**

Valissa sat in a chair in the Hospital Wing between two occupied beds. She had refused to take the sleeping draught that Madame Pomfrey had attempted to give her. It wasn't that she was intentionally trying to be unreasonable. She just was hoping to be awake when either of them woke up. It had been two days of waiting and watching. She had fallen asleep several times in the chair falling out, which had caused Madame Pomfrey to order that she sleep in one of the beds. Which she reluctantly obeyed. But she had woken an hour before and was at her place of vigil once again. She had taken to staring out the window that was between the hospital bed headboards. She now thought she could name a hundred shapes that the clouds formed outside. It was as exciting as watching paint dry.

"Your thoughts must be very deep to have such a look of concentration on your face." A voice called from the bed to her left.

"Just trying to decide whether that cloud looks like a frog or a bunny." She answered before she realized who had spoken.

As her mind registered the voice she had heard she looked quickly to the bed. "Draco." She called out plunging toward the bed landing nearly on top of him.

"Whoa. Take it easy on me, okay. I feel like hell." Draco said trying to scoot over so she could sit beside him.

"I can imagine. You lost a lot of blood." Val said reaching out smoothing a lock of hair away from his eyes.

"Are you okay, Val?" He asked looking her over. He could see no injuries present.

"I'm fine. You and Harry were the ones that took the brunt of the damage." She answered glancing over to Harry's bed. He was still sleeping. His torso was covered in bandages. They were using a potion to attempt to remove the scars caused by Lucius' torture. She hoped he wouldn't be scared for life. He had enough scars.

Draco also looked to Harry. A flash of memory slipped into his mind of the young man pleading with Lucius to tell him the Sectumsempra counter curse. He had never expected Harry to fight so hard for his life. He looked around the room again and noticed someone missing. "Where's Snape?"

"He refused to let Madame Pomfrey treat him. He wouldn't tell any of us what happened to him but his wounds didn't look very nice." Val answered. "He's locked himself in his private quarters. I think Dumbledore is very worried about him."

"That's strange. But I guess we won't know what's going on until he comes out." Draco said looking skeptical. Then he looked away as he wondered if he should dare ask the next question. He sighed heavily. "And my father?"

Val didn't know how to tell him what she had learned. But she must try. "No one really knows, Draco." He looked at her quickly with a confused look, but did not speak. "By the time the Aurors removed the wards and were able to enter the house it was deserted. He was gone."

"Just gone." Draco said shaking his head in disbelief. "If he was dead, why would they take the body?" He wondered.

"We just don't know." Val answered feeling as if she was letting him down by not having the answer he needed. "I'm sorry."

Draco looked at Val and just nodded. There was a moment of tense silence between them. Neither knew how to express their feelings properly now that the danger was gone.

Val broke the silence first. "Draco.." She began but paused. There were so many things she wanted to say, but she was unsure how to do so.

Draco reached out taking her hand. "Val, do we really need words?" He asked shaking his head. "No matter how much we learn to the contrary, you are and will always be my sister. I don't ever want to forget that again." He whispered.

Val could not hold back the tears that started to course down her cheeks. She looked away from him not wanting him to see her tears. She felt she was getting too old to cry at every emotional turn in her life. But Draco would not allow her to hide her face. He reached out pulling her chin around so he could see her eyes. "I'm sorry, Draco. I keep trying to be strong, but the emotions get in the way."

He nodded at her words but the look on his face turned into a wry smile. "You are very strong, Sis. Don't ever doubt that. You were strong for me, when I could not be. But I want you to promise me one thing. Don't ever hide your tears from me, and I promise I won't ever keep secrets from you again."

Val nodded. "I promise." Draco pulled her to him then wrapping his arms around her, feeling for the first time in months like things would be finally be okay.

Val did not ever want to let go of her brother again. She had seen how easy it would be to lose him in just a few seconds, and never wanted to live through that again.

After a few moments they heard someone clearing their throat very near by. Val looked up and saw that Harry was awake and watching them. "Harry."

"I'm assuming you two are all right." He said looking at the pair who had not let go of each other yet.

Val looked to Draco and Harry could see him nod. He wasn't sure what it was about but he got the feeling that Draco was giving his approval for something and was proven right when Val stood and moved over to sit beside Harry wrapping her arms around him in a loose hug so as not to press against his chest. Harry could see Draco over Val's shoulder and he could see the slight sneer cross his face as he looked away. This made Harry smile all the more as he hugged Val harder. Things were getting back to normal.

* * *

Severus Snape sat silently in his personal quarters with all the lights off. He had bandaged his own wounds and donned a black turtleneck hating to even look at the wounds himself. When he had first arrived in his quarters he had been angry. He had thrown anything he could get a hold of demolishing many of his private possessions. He knew what kind of life he had in store for himself now. It wasn't something he would wish on his worst enemy. But the anger had faded as he sat silently staring into the darkness, his mind working desperately trying to grasp a way to change things. No one had ever discovered a cure for being a werewolf. He knew that fact. But he himself had never attempted the task. Maybe, just maybe.

He was startled by a knock on his door. "Go away." He called out, in his normal annoyed voice.

The knock sounded again. "I said, go away." He yelled louder.

But for a third time the knock sounded. Severus sprung to his feet stalking to the doorway and yanking it open as he grumbled. "I don't care if you are deaf, it won't save you from being hexed."

There leaning against the doorframe was a figure that Severus had not expected and cared not if he ever saw again.

"Aren't you going to invite me in, Severus." The man asked smiling deeply.

"Lupin. My isn't this a pleasant surprise." Severus' voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Come now, Severus. You didn't think Albus wouldn't guess, did you?" Remus said pushing past the Potions Master, then gave his wand a flick causing all the candles to light in the room.

"Won't you come in and make yourself at home." Severus said slamming the door behind him and then swinging around leaning against the door in casual silence.

"So are we feeling sorry for ourselves now?" Remus asked sitting on one of the comfortable couches adorning the sitting room.

"You might be. I have nothing to feel sorry for." Severus sneered at Remus.

"Remind me to ask you that same question after the next full moon." Remus said his voice holding a small amount of pity.

"Go on, get it over with." Snape spat out in rage as he whirled away from Remus so his emotions would not shine through his eyes. "You are just dying to rub it in. After all of the things I said to you. After I got you canned from teaching here, you just can't wait to rub it in. So do it, and get out."

Remus stared at Severus for a few moments and then shook his head slightly. "I can't do that, Severus."

Severus was standing with his fists pressed against the door wanting desperately to become angry again and break something. "Why not? I would." He hissed.

"Severus, you and I have never been friends, and at times I might have even called us enemies, but what good would it do? Whether we like it or not, we are on the same side now, and if you are going to survive what's happening to you, you're going to need my help." Remus explained.

Severus threw his head back and laughed bitterly at the irony of the position he was in. "Who says I want to survive it?"

"You do." Remus said in a knowing tone.

Severus spun around staring at him. "What would make you say that?"

Remus shook his head thinking of the irony of his position. "Look at what you have done in your life. You worked your way through Hogwarts with one of the smartest minds it has seen, even though you were ostracized throughout it all. Yes you fell in with the wrong people after that, but you redeemed yourself to further the Order's cause, and in doing so have suffered through a great deal of pain at the hands of your former friends. And you took on the responsibility of another's life with the boy. You were already injured when you went to save him. What difference would it make to save him if you wanted to die anyway? If you had let him die, you would have also. I think no matter what you might say, that you want to live."

Severus stood silently going over what the other man was saying in his mind. It was true. If he truly wanted to end this he could have just let Draco die. The vow would have done him in without ever having to go through becoming one of those things. He still could not even think the word without shuddering. "So where do I go from here?"

"Well from here you learn what it is to be a werewolf. Just remember one thing, Severus. You're not alone in this." Remus said wanting the man to be perfectly clear that he would help him all the way.

Severus heard the words but felt the old suspicion creeping back in. "Why do you want to help me?"

"Oh, Severus. Someday maybe you'll learn to trust others." Remus laughed, but then his face turned serious. "Then again, maybe you won't. But that doesn't matter. I'm helping you because… well because I had three friends who helped me when I needed it most. No one should face this alone."

* * *

Another day had gone by and Harry and Draco would be allowed to leave the Hospital Wing soon. They had received many visitors in that time. Hermione and Ron had visited often, and they had even spoken to Draco a couple of times. Draco was back to his sarcastic remarks, but none of them were completely offensive as they had been in the past. On a couple of occasions Val had given him dirty looks when she thought he might go to far and this had served to reign his tongue in. But then they received an unexpected visitor.

The doors flew open and Severus Snape strode through them with his black robes billowing behind him. He walked slowly up to the beds that Draco and Harry were sitting on. He turned to Draco first. "Almost recovered I see."

"And you?" Draco asked quietly.

"I am fine, as usual." Severus said sneering at the look of concern that Val was sending towards him. She quickly looked away. He then turned to the doors leading into the wing and whispered the Mufliato curse.

"I came to tell you that Professor Dumbledore has requested that for our own protection, you and I along with your sister should retire to the headquarters of the Order of the Pheonix, at the end of the school year." He explained in a hushed tone even though no one outside of the room could hear him.

Draco and Val both looked at him wide eyed. Neither of them had thought much past the end of the year, which was only two week away.

Severus then looked towards Harry. "That is if you have no objections, Mr. Potter."

This also caused both Draco and Val to look confused. Why would Severus need to ask Harry if it was okay? Harry saw the looks they were giving him. "I own the house that the Order is headquartered in. Or I guess I do. Come to think of it, you might actually be considered the owner, Val."

"I'm sorry." Val said in complete confusion.

Harry looked uncomfortable explaining this part. "Val, your father left the Black family Manor to me in his will, and that is where he's speaking of."

"I see." Val said and she did understand. She had completely gotten over her jealous feelings concerning her father and Harry. "Well, Harry, it is still your decision."

Harry knew he trusted Val, but to bring Draco to his home, to the headquarters of The Order. "If Dumbledore thinks it is for the best, then it is fine with me."

Snape nodded and began to leave but turned back as he seemed to remember something. "By the way, Mr. Potter. You, I do believe, are in the possession of one of my belongings. I would like it back."

Harry gave the Professor a confused look. He really had no idea what the man was speaking of. "I'm sorry, Sir. I have no idea what you are speaking of."

"A book, Mr. Potter. An Advanced Potions Textbook. I believe you know the one I am speaking of. It belongs to me, and I would like it back, before the spells and potions in it are used on any other unsuspecting students." Snape said crossing his arms.

Harry's mouth gaped at his words. "You are the Half Blood Prince."

"The textbook, Mr. Potter." Severus said impatiently.

"It's at the Manor." Harry said still staring at Snape.

"I will recover it when we return there." Severus said swinging around and leaving the room as quickly as he had arrived.

Val and Draco both stared at Harry in confusion. "I'll explain later."

* * *

Harry and Val had said their tearful goodbyes to Ron and Hermione who would be taking the Hogwarts Express back home that summer, but they were taking a different more direct route to the Black Family Manor.

It would be a turning point for Harry, Ron and Hermione. This had been their last year at Hogwarts, but Val had one more year. Hermione had decided to become a teacher and would be going on to a graduate school, and to Ron's utter delight he had been contacted by the Chudley Cannons, his favorite Quidditch team, and had been offered a position on the team. He had jumped at the chance. Harry had not changed his goal of becoming an Auror. He had been accepted into their elite training program the week before and he would continue to work with Dumbledore attempting to find the remaining Horcrux.

Harry, Val, Draco, Remus, Severus, and Dumbledore were standing in the Room of Requirement in front of the oak cabinet.

"Remus and I have been studying this link to the Headquarters and have added an extra precautionary ward to it." Dumbledore began to explain. "We have fashioned the magic around it so that only those who are truly loyal to the Order may use it to travel to the Headquarters."

Harry was pleased to hear this. He had been worried about other's using it. "What happens if someone tries to use it that is not loyal?"

Dumbledore gave Remus a small smile and Remus answered the question. "Well let's just say that we are not exactly sure where someone who is untrue will end up, but I'd hate to find out for myself."

Draco looked skeptically to the cabinet. "Exactly how loyal must someone be for this thing to work?"

"Very loyal, Mr. Malfoy." Dumbledore said motioning to the cabinet. "Would you and your sister care to go first?"

Draco began to shake his head but Val moved forward pulling him with her. "Come on, Draco."

Remus went next with Severus following him leaving Harry and Dumbledore alone. Harry stood staring at the cabinet but hesitated.

"What is it, Harry?" Albus asked seeing the young man's hesitation.

Harry looked around the room imagining the school all around him. "I have spent the best times of my life at this school."

"Harry, just because you are starting on the new pages of your life, it doesn't mean that you have to close the chapters of your past forever. They are there for you to visit when ever they are needed, just as Hogwarts will always be here if ever you need it." The wizard said motioning to the room around him.

Harry nodded and then turned back to the cabinet and a wry smile crossed his lips just as he stepped in. "I wonder where Draco ended up?" He called over his shoulder. He looked back to Dumbledore's smiling face with a mischievous grin of his own.

"I'm afraid you might just be underestimating our Mr. Malfoy's capacity for loyalty." Dumbledore said with that knowing smile on his face.

Harry nodded and closed the cabinet door and then opened the other side. He stepped out into the matching room in the Black Family Manor and was not surprised to see four people there waiting for him.

Draco smirked at Harry knowing that he probably did not expect to see him there. "So, Potter. Do we get the fifty cent tour?"

**The End For Now**


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